Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man Dmitri Medvedev issued a stark warning to and its NATO allies vowing to “vanquish” Russia’s enemies.
Russia’s former president – and puppet – lashed out claiming that Moscow was al and warned that was strong enough to take on the defensive alliance.
“The entire NATO system is almost openly fighting against us. We are strong enough to achieve all of the goals of the special military operation,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
He continued: “Just like in August 2008, our enemies will be vanquished and Russia will secure peace on its own terms. Victory will be ours!”
In August 2008, while Medvedev was President of Russia, Moscow attacked neighbouring Georgia in support of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Moscow called the brief war a “peacekeeping” operation while today Medvedev branded it a “proxy war” with NATO.
He said that the war in Ukraine was also a proxy war between Russia and NATO in which the alliance was “trying to wipe Russia off the face of the earth”.
The former Russian President and long-time Putin ally is known for his fiery rhetoric and has even called for Russia to use nuclear weapons against the West in certain hypothetical circumstances.
His comments come amid brutal fighting on the frontline and airstrikes against civilian targets by Moscow.
Yesterday, two Russian Iskander ballistic missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk within about 30 minutes of each other.
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The timing of the strikes is thought to have been deliberate to target emergency workers and rescuers at the scene, according to Ukrainian officials.
“When the State Emergency Service and rescuers arrive to save people, the second missile hits and so the number of victims increases,” Serhii Dobriak, head of Pokrovsk City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.
In recent weeks, following drone strikes on Moscow, Medvedev has in Ukraine.
Local officials said at least eight people were killed including a rescuer, five civilians and a serviceman while residential buildings, hotels and shops were damaged in the strike.
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