Dmitri Medvedev, the second in command of Russia’s security council, has vowed Russia would retaliate against Western sanctions announced on the second anniversary of Russia’s offensive against Ukraine and the death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
“May they (the West) suffer over there. We must remember this and retaliate against them where we can, they are our enemies,” the former Russian president posted on Telegram.
Medvedev also urged for covert operations to be carried out in Western countries - as accusations are regularly made towards Russian spying, political influence operations, and assassination attempts - all of which Moscow consistently denies.
It is also necessary to “implement activities of a certain type on their territories, which cannot be talked about publicly, as in war,” he said.
Once viewed as a relatively liberal figure within Putin’s system, since the beginning of the assault on Ukraine, Medvedev has adopted a strikingly hard-line stance, frequently threatening the use of nuclear weapons or invasions of countries supporting Kyiv.
