‘Legitimate targets’: Putin ally threatens The London Times over coverage of general’s assassination
Dmitri Medvedev said the ‘entire management team’ of The Times were military targets and warned ‘be careful’ after the paper ran a leader on Ukraine’s assassination of a Russian general.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed the freedom of the press and accused Russia of resorting to “desperate” threats after its former president said editors at The Times were “legitimate military targets”.
Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, issued a series of threats after a leading article in The Times about the assassination of a senior Russian general.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a bomb was detonated outside his home about 8km from the Kremlin on Tuesday. Ukraine claimed responsibility. The Times’s article said Kirillov’s assassination was a “legitimate act of defence by a threatened nation”.
Medvedev said the “entire management team” of The Times were “mangy jackals” and could be considered military targets. “So be careful,” he said. “After all, a lot of things happen in London.”
Responding to Medvedev’s threat, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said: “I’m pleased they’re studying our paper of record in Moscow. These comments are simply the latest in a string of desperate rhetoric coming out of Putin’s government.
“Unlike in Russia, a free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. We take any threats from Russia incredibly seriously.
“The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. We will do whatever it takes to protect the British public and the freedom of the press.”
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, posted on social media: “Russia’s Medvedev’s gangster threat against Times journalists smacks of desperation. Our newspapers represent the best of British values: freedom, democracy and independent thinking. I stand with The Times.”
The leading article stated: “The assassination is a discriminate strike against an aggressor. It underlines the need for Western governments, many in a state of flux, to give Ukraine all support it needs to fight a just war of self-defence.”
Responding on his Telegram channel, Medvedev described journalists at The Times as “bastards”.
He said: “The people who committed crimes against Russia … always have accomplices. And they, too, are now legitimate military targets. These may include the lousy jackals from The Times who cowardly hid behind an editorial. Meaning, the publication’s entire management team. Logical? Very! So be careful! After all, anything goes in London …”
Medvedev said all “decision-makers” from NATO countries that have provided support to Ukraine were also legitimate targets. “There’s a legion of them,” he said. “There’s not even enough space to list them, but all these individuals can and should be considered legitimate military targets for the Russian state. And for Russian patriots, for that matter.”
Russia has been linked to 14 deaths on British soil, including the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a Putin opponent who was poisoned with polonium 210 in London in 2006.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who became a double agent for Britain, survived after being poisoned with the nerve agent novichok in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Russia has already banned dozens of British journalists, including reporters from The Times, and senior politicians from entering the country.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey said British troops could be sent to Ukraine to provide training as the UK seeks to forge a new leadership role.
Mr Healey said Britain needed to “make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need” as he left the door open for it to take place in the war-torn country instead of on home soil.
“We [need to] make it easier for the Ukrainians to access and we [need to] work with the Ukrainians to help them motivate and mobilise more recruits,” he said on a visit to Ukraine.
Asked if this meant extending the training of Ukrainian recruits by British to Ukraine itself, he said: “We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting.”
Mr Healey said he would deliver a five-point plan to his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, containing details of how Britain would step up support for the country in the year ahead.
These include increasing the number of Ukrainians trained by British forces, as well as providing new weapons, extra money and support to the defence industry.
En route to Kyiv, he said this was one of the most critical periods of the war, adding: “The year may be ending but the war is not. This is the time to step up further in Ukraine on every front.”
Russia's Medvedev’s gangster threat against Times journalists smacks of desperation.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) December 18, 2024
Our newspapers represent the best of British values: freedom, democracy and independent thinking. I stand with @thetimes. pic.twitter.com/L6jscmESgn
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