Russia’s former president and current National Security Council deputy chairman, Dmitry Medvedev, recently warned that Russia might have no choice but to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Moscow’s invasion is successful. 

In a post on social media, Medvedev stressed that if Ukraine’s forces, which are supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), captured Russian territory, the use of strategic nuclear weapons would become inevitable as per a presidential decree from Feb. 6, 2020. 

Medvedev has made similar threats previously, stating that Russia could resort to nuclear action to defend its territories incorporated from Ukrainian forces, Politico reported.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has warned Russia against employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“There would simply be no other way out” of using nuclear weapons if the Ukrainian offensive succeeded in taking Russian territory, Medvedev, former Russian president and current National Security Council deputy chairman, said in a post on social media.

“Just imagine that the NATO-supported ukrobanderovtsy’s offensive turned out successful, and they took away a part of our land: Then we would have to, following the president’s degree of 02.06.2020, use the nuclear weapon,” Medvedev tweeted.

By repelling the collective enemy’s counteroffensive, our Armed Forces are defending Russian citizens and our land. It is quite clear to all decent people.

Besides that, they are preventing global conflict.
Just imagine that the NATO-supported ukrobanderovtsy’s offensive turned…

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) July 30, 2023

“That’s why our enemies must worship our warriors. They are keeping global nuclear fire from flaring up,” Medvedev said.

“There simply wouldn’t be any other solution,” the former Russian president added. “Our enemies should pray to our fighters that they do not allow the world to go up in nuclear flames.”
Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has struck a bellicose tone throughout Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly raising the specter of nuclear conflict.

CNN reported Russia has about 4,477 deployed and reserved nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev, left, visits the Totsky military training ground in the Orenburg region, Russia, July 14, 2023. Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council who served as a placeholder president in 2008-12 because Putin was term-limited, has unleashed near-daily threats that Moscow won’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Pool Photo via AP, File)