Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday that Moscow’s response to the new US sanctions should include “military deterrence”, a day after US President Donald Trump signed legislation targeting Russian sectors and figures over the war in Ukraine.
Medvedev proposes military deterrence
Even on the other side of the ocean, they understand nothing but the language of direct military deterrence, and that is the language with which we should respond to anti-Russian atrocities such as the late terrorist Graham’s law
Trump signed the new sanctions law on Friday, aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, after Congress approved the legislation following a delay of several months. The legislation is named after the late US senator Lindsey Graham and targets Russia’s energy and defence sectors, as well as individuals led by Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of senior Russian officials.
US sanctions target Russian sectors
Medvedev is considered a prominent ally of Putin and one of Moscow’s leading anti-Western politicians. He currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and regularly publishes strongly worded statements directed against Ukraine and Western countries on social media.
Since Moscow launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, Russian officials, including Putin, have described Ukraine and the countries supporting it as “terrorist”. Kyiv rejects these accusations, saying they are war propaganda with no basis. Medvedev, 61, served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, under an arrangement in which Putin became prime minister, allowing him to circumvent restrictions on the number of consecutive presidential terms.
Medvedev’s critics see his hard-line rhetoric as an attempt to maintain his political profile, while others believe his statements reflect existing views within Russia’s senior ruling circles. Medvedev’s posts have previously caused tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Last year, Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines after the Russian official referred in a Telegram post to Russia’s semi-automated nuclear weapons control system known as the “Dead Hand”, developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
