Medvedev warns of nuclear war if Russia is defeated in Ukraine

Putin’s spokesman warns Ukraine’s Western allies about the danger of getting more involved in the war, ahead of a key meeting in Germany.

A BM-21 multiple rocket launcher fires towards Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Picture: AFP

Russia has warned that its defeat in Ukraine could lead to a nuclear conflict after President Zelensky appealed for a rapid delivery of tanks and weapons.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of President Putin’s national security council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that western politicians were “repeating like a mantra: to achieve peace, Russia must lose”.

He added: “It never occurs to any of them to draw the following elementary conclusion from this: the loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can trigger the start of a nuclear war. Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends. This should be clear to anyone. Even a western politician.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches nuclear drills, by Russia’s strategic nuclear forces, via video link. Picture: Kremlin & Russian Defence Ministry

The Kremlin said the comments were “in full accordance” with its nuclear policy, which allows it to respond to “aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened”.

Russian military fire a succession of missiles from a Solntsepek 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher. Picture: Supplied

Defence chiefs from NATO member states and other Ukrainian allies will meet today (Friday) at the Ramstein air base in Germany. The delivery to Kyiv of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks is expected to be high on the agenda.

Several NATO nations have them but sending them to Ukraine would, in theory, require Germany’s approval. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, has indicated that Berlin is reluctant to approve their delivery unless the US also offers its M1 Abrams tanks.

The White House is due to approve a new $2 billion aid package for Ukraine that will probably include Stryker armoured vehicles but not Abrams tanks.

‘Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends’, says Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Medvedev. Picture: AFP

Zelensky criticised the German approach at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He said: “When someone says, ‘I will give tanks if someone else will also share tanks’ . . . I don’t think this is the right strategy.”

Britain became the first western country to step up at the weekend, with a promise of 14 Challenger 2 tanks. Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said the Ukrainian military would also get 600 more Brimstone ground-attack missiles.

He told other defence ministers at the Tapa army base in Estonia that the weapon would be “important in helping Ukraine dominate the battlefield”.

The UK was the first European nation to donate lethal aid to Ukraine and we are committed to match or exceed last year's funding in 2023.

We have provided over 200 armoured vehicles to date. Meet the Husky, Mastiff, Wolfhound, Spartan and Stormer.
#StandWithUkraine

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 13, 2023

Wallace said western unity against Putin’s invasion remained strong and that allies were “in it for the long haul”. He added: “If Putin is banking on us getting bored this year, he’s wrong. We will plan for this year and next year and the year after and beyond.”

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, raised the pressure on Scholz, promising to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine with or without German permission. “Consent is a secondary issue here,” he said on his return from Davos. “We will either get this agreement quickly or we will do the right thing ourselves.”

This aerial picture shows an expert of the prosecutor's office examining collected remnants of shells and missiles used by the Russian army to attack the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Sweden said it would send long-range Archer artillery units to Kyiv.

Zelensky said in a video address that Ukraine aimed to expel Russians from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. “Crimea is our land,” he said. “Give us your weapons and we will bring our land back.”

Russia must be held to account for every burned Ukrainian city and village. For every destroyed life. For every Ukrainian family destroyed by Russian missiles, bombs and mines.

We must bring justice back. We must punish evil. #RussianWarCrimesHouse@wefhttps://t.co/ZfIhTY682U

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 19, 2023

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said that strikes by Ukraine on Crimea would raise the conflict “to a new level that will not bode well for European security”.

The New York Times had reported that US officials were warming to the idea of helping Ukraine attack the peninsula, despite earlier fears that providing long-range missiles would escalate the war.

Putin and his senior officials have portrayed the war as a fight for Russia’s future and said they will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons. Western officials are increasingly confident in calling what they see as Putin’s bluff.

The Kremlin suffered a diplomatic setback yesterday (Thursday) when Russian state media reported that Iran, one of its closest allies, had said that it would not recognise the land grabs in Ukraine.

The Times