Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev has threatened that the country could reduce Kyiv to ruins using new weapons as Ukraine’s allies consider whether to allow its long range missiles to be fired into enemy territory.
Medvedev, a former president, posted a message on Telegram warning that Russia is already justified in using nuclear weapons after Ukrainian forces invaded Kursk.
However, he said that Russia could do great enough damage in retaliation by hitting the Ukrainian capital with its modern advanced technology conventional weapons.
His post was in response to suggestions the West could supply long-range missiles to Ukraine to aid them in the war.
He claimed Moscow already had formal grounds to use nuclear weapons since Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region, but could instead use some of its new weapon technologies to reduce Kyiv to "a giant melted spot".
Medvedev, Russia's former president, also claimed Russia could destroy Ukraine's capital with just its non-nuclear weapons.
He said Russia had so far "chosen" not to but that its "patience has its limits".
Medvedev last week attacked UK foreign secretary David Lammy’s pledge to stick with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia even if it was 100 years. Throughout the war has made sinister threats against Nato countries arming Ukraine.
He posted:”1) He is lying. 2) So-called Ukraine will not last a quarter of that time.
“3) The island called Britain is likely to sink in the next few years. Our hypersonic missiles will help if necessary.”
This came as Russia performed war games with artillery firing in the Barents Sea in a show of force to the West, part of the largest naval exercise since the Cold War.
Putin has threatened war if Britain and other countries permit Ukraine to unleash NATO-supplied long-range missiles at military targets deep inside Russia.
The threats came as Keir Starmer met US President Joe Biden with the issue high on the agenda during talks.
