Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the refusal of Ukraine and Western powers to recognize Moscow’s authority over Crimea was a “direct threat” to Russia and that any foreign attack on the region would be met with an earthquake response.
“The day of reckoning will come quickly and it will be very difficult and very difficult to hide,” Medvedev was quoted as saying by Tass news agency.
Medvedev did not elaborate but has 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 put humanity at risk.
The comments came a day after a Ukrainian official said 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 Russian forces.
Earlier yesterday, according to the Interfax news agency, Medvedev told a group of World War II veterans: “If any other country, be it Ukraine or NATO countries, believes that Crimea is not Russia, it is a systematic threat.” We”.
Medvedev, now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, added: “This is a direct and clear threat, especially in light of what happened to Crimea. Crimea has returned to Russia.”
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after ousting a pro-Moscow president in Kyiv amid widespread street protests, then Moscow backed armed pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbass region.
Source: Lebanon Debate
