‘Need to go to Kyiv or Lviv’, says Putin’s top aide after Moscow suffers setbacks in war
The battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut has significantly drained the resources of the Russian side
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has suggested that the troops may have to march onto cities as far as Kyiv or Lviv in Ukraine amid reports that Moscow was facing significant setbacks in the battle.
Considered a strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev’s statement may have unwittingly given away the position Kremlin finds itself in currently.
“Nothing can be ruled out here. If you need to get to Kyiv, then you need to go to Kyiv, if to Lviv, then you need to go to Lviv in order to destroy this infection,” Medvedev was quoted as saying by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
The battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut has significantly drained the resources of the Russian side, according to multiple media reports. Since the war began over a year ago, no place has witnessed a battle as fierce as Bakhmut.
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012 has emerged as one of the most hawkish officials in recent times – routinely issuing blustery and hyperbolic statements.
Earlier this week, he issued a hypersonic missile attack threat to the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the global organisation, issued an arrest warrant against Putin.
“I’m afraid, gentlemen, everyone is answerable to God and missiles. It’s quite possible to imagine how a hypersonic Oniks fired from a Russian warship in the North Sea strikes the court building in the Hague,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
“It can’t be shot down, I’m afraid. And the court is just a pathetic international organisation, not the people of a NATO country. So, they won’t start a war. They’ll be scared. And no one will be sorry.”
Putin’s top ally previously said that a civil war will break out in the US in 2023 and that if Russia lost in the ongoing war, it could provoke the beginning of a ‘nuclear war’.
He also stated that any attempt to arrest Putin will be considered a declaration of war against Russia.