December 22, 2024
"Don't be afraid." The European Union and the United States reacted to Medvedev's threats thumbnail
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“Don’t be afraid.” The European Union and the United States reacted to Medvedev’s threats

The US State Department also told RFE/RL that Medvedev’s comments are yet another irresponsible rhetoric from the Kremlin.”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org

The head of the European Union’s foreign affairs service, Kaya Callas, called for “no fear” after Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev called NATO a “legitimate military target” following the killing of a Russian general.

“Russia always threatens. And it’s meant to scare us, so what we’re seeing are the threats we’ve heard before… I think the only response we can give is not to be afraid,” Callas told RFE/RL in Brussels. before the meeting of EU leaders.

The US State Department told RFE/RL that Medvedev’s comments were yet another piece of irresponsible rhetoric from the Kremlin, and reiterated that the US and NATO do not seek military conflict with Russia.

“The Kremlin’s aggression against Ukraine is the most significant and direct threat to the security of Europe, peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region. It was the Kremlin that started this war, and Putin can end it today,” the State Department’s press service said in a response.

On December 18, Dmitry Medvedev accused NATO and officials of countries that are allies of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, that they are participants in the conflict, which makes them “legitimate military targets.”

Reacting to an editorial in the Times of London that called the Dec. 17 killing of a senior Russian officer a “legitimate act of protecting a nation in danger,” Medvedev, a former president who has become known for his increasingly anti-Western rhetoric, though his role in the political system limited, stated that Moscow should apply the same logic in its worldview.

Read also: The USA stated that it was not involved in the murder of a Russian general in Moscow

In its article, The Times notes that the killing was a “selective blow to the aggressor” and that it underscores the need for Western governments to give Ukraine “all necessary support to wage a just war in self-defense.”

“All NATO officials involved in decision-making on military aid to Ukraine, as well as those participating in a hybrid or conventional war against Russia, are now considered legitimate military targets for the Russian state and all Russian patriots,” Medvedev wrote in response .

Medvedev’s rhetoric builds on the Kremlin’s long-standing narrative of accusing Western “powers” of anti-Russian actions around the world, as well as sabotage and “terrorism” on Russian soil.

The head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense forces of the Russian armed forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kyrylov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov died on December 17 as a result of an explosion in Moscow, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported.

Read also: “This is the specificity of the Russian special services.” Ukrainian experts on the detention of the alleged killers of Kyrylov

The explosion occurred in the early hours of December 17 near the house where Kyrylov lived. According to the version of the investigation, the explosive device was planted in a scooter standing next to the entrance. Russian investigators have opened a criminal case under articles of terrorist attack, murder and illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine told RFE/RL that the explosion that killed Kyrylov was a SBU special operation. Officially, the Security Service did not announce this.

On December 16, the Security Service of Ukraine accused General Kyrylov of committing crimes in absentia. According to the SBU, he is responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian servicemen.

Kyrylov is one of a number of Russian officers and pro-Russian figures who were killed in Russia and in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. His death came a week after a senior official of a Russian company that develops cruise missiles used by Moscow in the war was reportedly shot dead near the capital.

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