Putin crony brands US and UK 'arrogant dimwits' as he levels major fresh threat
A key ally of Vladimir Putin has said Russia does not want to launch a nuclear war but has the "grounds to do so" as Moscow rages at the UK and US.
A major ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit out at the UK and US, branding them "arrogant dimwits" in a long rant.
Dmitry Medvedev, former president and prime minister of Russia, was responding to reports that the US and UK could allow Ukraine to use British and American missiles to strike military targets in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged Western allies to allow them to use their weapons for such attacks.
Medvedev suggested the UK and US don't take Russia's threats seriously, as he wrote in a Telegram post shared on September 14: "The Russians, they argue, have been talking a lot about retaliating with weapons of mass destruction, but they’ve done nothing. These are just verbal interventions. The Russians won’t dare cross the line. They’re just trying to scare us. They don’t need a nuclear conflict because they may lose the support of the Global South."
He went on, saying Russia does not want a nuclear conflict but there are "grounds to do so" because of the West's actions.
Medvedev added: "What arrogant Anglo-Saxon dimwits fail to admit, though, is that you can only test someone’s patience for so long.
"It will turn out in the end that certain moderate Western analysts were right when they warned: ‘True, the Russians are not likely to use this response, although… it’s still a possibility. Besides, they may use new delivery vehicles with conventional payloads.’
"And then – it’s over. A giant blot of molten-grey mass in the place where ‘the mother of Russian cities’ [historical name of Kiev] once stood. Holy s***, it's impossible, but it happened."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden this week to discuss the possibility of giving Ukraine the greenlight for strikes in Russia.
They are yet to announce a decision on this.
Relations between Russia and the UK took another blow this week as Moscow expelled six British diplomats and accused them of spying.
Russian security services said it had received documents proving Britain's aims to in inflict "a strategic defeat" on the country.
The UK Foreign Office said the allegations are "baseless."
