Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, declared on Thursday that Moscow might defend Ukrainian territory by using any weapon in its arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons.
There will be referendums organised by Russian-installed and separatist authorities in significant portions of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, according to Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council:
“Russia will accept the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) republics and other territory.”
The Russian military forces, according to Medvedev, would greatly increase their defence of all the territories.
“Russia has indicated that any Russian weapon, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, may be employed for such protection in addition to mobilisation capabilities.”
It is widely anticipated that the next referendums in the Russian-controlled regions of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as a portion of Mykolaiv, will generate results decisively favouring joining Russia.
The ballots, which were called shams by Kiev and its Western backers, were organised under military occupation with only a short notice.
The seized regions, where Ukrainian counteroffensives have picked up steam in recent weeks, will be entitled to protection from Russian nuclear weapons under Moscow’s nuclear policy if they are formally accepted to the Russian Federation.
Only about 60% of the Donetsk and 66% of the Zaporizhzhia areas are totally under the authority of the Russian army, which means Moscow does not fully control any of the four territories it is anticipated to try to annex.
In recent months, Medvedev has frequently made hostile statements about the West and Ukraine, underscoring his transition from an outwardly Western-minded liberalizer as president from 2008 to 2012 to an outspoken geopolitical hawk.
Featured Image: Wikimedia Commons
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