Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, delivers a speech during a Shipbuilder’s Day ceremony in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 29, 2022. Sputnik/Valentin Egorshin/Pool
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- This content was created in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine
MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) – The refusal of Ukraine and Western powers to recognize Moscow’s control of Crimea poses a “systemic threat” to Russia and any external attack on the region will trigger a “Doomsday” response, former President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday .
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a pro-Moscow president in Kyiv was ousted amid mass street protests. Then Moscow also supported pro-Russian armed separatists in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.
In the event of an attack on Crimea, Medvedev, quoted by the TASS agency, said: “Doomsday will come very quickly and hard. It will be very difficult to hide.”
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Medvedev did not elaborate, but previously warned the United States about the dangers of trying to punish a nuclear power like Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying it could endanger humanity. Read more
His comments came a day after a Ukrainian official suggested that Crimea, which most of the world still recognizes as part of Ukraine, could be a target for US-made HIMARS missiles recently deployed by Kyiv as it battles with Russian forces.
Earlier on Sunday, the Interfax news agency quoted Medvedev as saying to World War II veterans: “If any other country, be it Ukraine or NATO countries, believes that Crimea is not Russian, then it is a systemic threat to us.”
“This is a direct and clear threat, especially given what happened in Crimea. Crimea has returned to Russia,” said Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.
Vadim Skibytskyi, a Ukrainian military intelligence official, was asked on Saturday in a televised interview whether HIMARS could be used against targets in Crimea.
He said Russia had struck Ukrainian territory from Crimea and the Black Sea, and those were also legitimate targets.
Crimea is of particular strategic importance to Russia as it includes the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
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Reporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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