Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow should consider launching ‘preemptive strikes’ against the West as the U.S. and its NATO allies ratchet up defensive support for Ukraine.
‘The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense,’ Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s security council, said in an interview with state media outlet Tass, according to Reuters reporting.
‘We need to act accordingly. To respond in full. And if necessary, launch preemptive strikes,’ he added.
Medvedev’s comments come just two days after President Donald Trump announced secondary tariffs on Moscow by slapping 100% tariffs on nations that purchase Russian oil if the Kremlin does not enter into a peace agreement with Ukraine within the next 50 days.
Reports also surfaced this week claiming that Trump had mulled the possibility of Ukraine hitting the Russian capital while in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month. Kyiv would not comment on the issue and the White House said the question was taken ‘out of context’ and was not an attempt at ‘encouraging further killing.’
Trump this week said the U.S. would be sending Patriot missiles to NATO nations that would then be routed to Ukraine, and on Wednesday he suggested the sophisticated weaponry was already en route to Germany.
‘They’re already being shipped,’ Trump told reporters from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. ‘They’re coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany. And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full.’
But the timing of the weapons delivery systems and where exactly they are being routed to remains unclear as a spokesman for Germany’s defense ministry on Thursday told reporters he had no knowledge of such an incoming shipment.
‘I cannot confirm that anything is currently on the way. That is not known to me,’ the spokesman reportedly told Swiss broadcasting outlet SRF, before noting that a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on Monday, when delivery specifications of U.S. Patriot systems will be hashed out.
But the quick delivery of the U.S. missile systems appears to be a top priority for Washington and NATO as Switzerland, which is not a NATO nation, also announced on Thursday that its anticipated receipt of five Patriot batteries, purchased from the U.S. in 2022 with a pledged delivery date to begin in 2026, had been delayed.
‘The United States Department of Defense has informed the (Swiss Defense Ministry) that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense,’ the ministry said in a statement.
‘No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland,’ the ministry added. ‘Clarifications are ongoing.’
Medvedev on Thursday said the action by NATO amounted to a full-blown war against Russia by the West.
‘What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war (launches of Western missiles, satellite intelligence, etc.), sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarization of Europe,’ he told the Russian media outlet.
Though the push to send Patriot systems and threats to sanction Moscow are significant as it is the first time since Trump entered office that he has looked to start actively countering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort, not everyone is convinced it is strong enough.
EU leaders earlier in the week commented on the length of time the president allotted for Putin despite months of diplomacy failing to yield real action on the battlefield.
And Zelenskyy noted that 50 days of waiting means another 50 days of death for Ukrainian citizens.
‘Fifty days, for us, is just – every day is scary,’ Zelenskyy said in an interview with the New York Post released on Thursday.
‘Putin has wasted President Trump’s time,’ he added. ‘I would very much like to see the United States, the Congress and the president put some pressure on this situation with sanctions and so the sooner, the faster it can be done, the better.’
‘We would certainly like to speed up this process,’ Zelenskyy added. ‘We, for our part, will work to provide more information [to Trump], more arguments for strong sanctions against Russia.’
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Pentagon or Germany’s Defense Ministry for comment.