Russia not 'bluffing' with nuclear threats as Biden greenlights limited military strikes, Medvedev says

Dmitry Medvedev, a senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has issued a stark warning about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine. His comments came after President Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to target military sites within Russia, specifically those supporting attacks on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

"This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluffing," Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, said Friday regarding the potential use of nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.

Russia has been using staging locations near the border to facilitate its attacks on Ukraine. In response, Biden has allowed Ukraine to use American weapons to strike back at these Russian forces. Germany has also supported this decision.

The White House has clarified that this policy is limited, prohibiting the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) or any long-range strikes inside Russia. However, in March, the U.S. discreetly delivered long-range ATACMS to Ukraine, which have since been used against Russian forces within Ukraine.

Medvedev claimed that "Russia regards all long-range weapons used by Ukraine as already being directly controlled by servicemen from NATO countries," suggesting that such actions could provoke a broader conflict. "This is no military assistance, this is participation in a war against us. And such actions could well become a casus belli (an act that provokes war)," he said Friday, per Reuters.

Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012, warned that the West’s continued support for Ukraine could escalate the ongoing conflict. "The current military conflict with the West is developing according to the worst possible scenario. There is a constant escalation in the firepower of NATO weapons being used. Therefore, nobody today can rule out the conflict's transition to its final stage," he remarked.

These comments come amid significant challenges for Ukrainian forces, who have been losing ground in recent weeks. This situation follows the U.S. agreement to provide an additional $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. Despite Russia's advances in the Kharkiv region, the White House maintains that Russian progress has stalled and that Russia will not be able to capture the city. "Russia has only moved forward by a few kilometers, and its forces are under relentless barrage by the Ukrainians and suffering at an extraordinary cost," a White House official told Fox News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Friday that it is only a matter of time before Ukraine uses Western weaponry to strike Russian territory.

The recent developments and threats of escalation follow Gen. Charles Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hinting that NATO military trainers might eventually be sent to Ukraine, as reported by the New York Times. Ukrainian officials have requested U.S. and NATO assistance to train 150,000 new recruits closer to the front lines for faster deployment.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., warned that deploying military trainers could lead to a broader regional conflict.

Medvedev's comments on Friday are consistent with his previously hardline stance against the West. In January, he warned the U.K. that deploying troops in Ukraine would be considered a declaration of war against Russia. He also raised the possibility of nuclear conflict, suggesting that a Russian defeat in Ukraine could trigger such a scenario. "The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the beginning of a nuclear war," he stated on Telegram. "Nuclear powers have [never] lost major conflicts on which their fate depends," he added.