Russia has ‘right to war’ with NATO – Medvedev

Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday Russia could have a right to go to war with NATO. 

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Writing on Twitter, now X, he said: “Ukrainian criminals have announced that any strikes of theirs against whatever Russian target, “for example, in Crimea” were approved by NATO.”

“If it is true – and there is no reason to doubt it is – then, this is a direct legally significant proof of the West’s complicity in the war against Russia. It is a refined casus belli, and for Russia, it is an opportunity to act within the jus ad bellum framework against each and every NATO country.”

Part of just war theory, which was first developed in ancient Greece and is still used by some Christians today, casus belli is an act or situation that morally justifies conflict, with jus ad bellum referring to conditions under which a state can resort to war. 

Ukrainian forces have attacked Crimea, which was occupied by Russia in 2014, in a bid to liberate the Black Sea peninsula. Western capitals provided Kyiv with weaponry and equipment after Russia invaded in February 2022, though it is unclear if they are providing more direct military assistance.

The former Russian Prime Minister – widely seen as a stopgap for Vladimir Putin –  repeatedly takes to social media to write provocative and inflammatory statements about the Ukraine war and the West. 

In Tuesday’s tweet, he warned the “apocalypse revelations are drawing nearer”, quoting a succession of biblical verse and old Soviet leaders. 

These included: “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them,” from Revelation 9:6. 

“We are remembered until we stand in the others’ way,” attributed to Vladimir Lenin, who led the Bolshevik Revolution and was the first leader and founder of the Soviet Union. 

Medvedev ended the tweet with a notorious quote from former USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev, which was made to Western ambassadors in 1956, reading: “Whether you like it, or not, history is on our side. We will bury you.” 

At the time, the phrase was received very negatively in the West. However, modern translators have since suggested his words were mistranslated. 

Most of Medvedev’s past threats have rung hollow or provoked ridicule online from large numbers of social media users.

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In May, he referred to the three Baltic states as belonging to Russia, adding Poland was “temporarily occupied”.

Since it was invaded by Russian troops, Western states have provided Ukraine with crucial military and financial assistance, crucial to the country’s self-defence. 

In April, it was revealed that special forces from the West were on the ground in Ukraine, though it was unclear what exactly they were doing. 

Medvedev, who served as Russian PM between 2000 – 2004, has emerged as a virulent anti-West, pro-war voice within the Kremlin. He was once considered a pro-Western democrat.