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Medvedev threatens NATO officials after the killing of the Russian general

2024-12-18 16:48:26, Kosova & Bota CNA

Medvedev threatens NATO officials after the killing of the Russian general

Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev

The vice president of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has accused NATO and officials from Ukraine's allies in its fight against Russian occupation troops of being involved in this conflict.

He said that this makes them "legitimate military targets".

Reacting to an editorial in the Times newspaper that described the Dec. 17 killing of a senior Russian general as a "legitimate act of defense against a threatened nation," Medvedev said Moscow should use the same logic in its stance. .

In its op-ed, the Times newspaper said the killing of the general was "an attack on an aggressor" and that it underscores the need for Western governments to give Ukraine "all the support it needs to wage a just war of self-defense."

"All officials of NATO countries involved in decisions on military aid to Ukraine and those participating in hybrid or conventional warfare against Russia are now considered legitimate military targets for the Russian state and for all Russian patriots." wrote Medvedev in a reaction.

Asked about Medvedev's comments, NATO's press office responded by email, saying: "We'll get back to you if we have anything to say."

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, and his aide were killed by a bomb hidden on a scooter near the entrance to a building in Moscow in the early hours of December 17.

Kirillov is among several Russian officers and pro-war figures who have been killed in Russia and the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

A week ago, a senior official of a Russian company that develops cruise missiles used by Moscow in the war was shot dead near the capital.

Medvedev's rhetoric stems from the Kremlin's own narrative of blaming Western "forces" for anti-Russian actions around the world and for acts of sabotage and "terrorism" in Russia.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on December 17 that the United States was not involved in Kirillov's murder, nor was it aware of it in advance.

Russian investigators described the killing as a "terrorist" attack and immediately attributed it to Ukrainian intelligence.

On December 18, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained a suspect – a 29-year-old Uzbek national, who has not been identified by name – in connection with the case.

Medvedev also threatened retaliation against the journalists of the Times newspaper, warning in dark tones that this newspaper could be included in the list of those "legitimate military targets", adding that "a lot of things happen in London... be careful".

The warning appears to be an indirect reference to the radiation poisoning of former FSB officer and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, as well as the attempted assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, in the British city of Salisbury with a deadly nerve agent in 2018./ REL