Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the end of the ‘existence of mankind’ if Moscow is punished for war crimes, in the Kremlin’s latest doomsday nuclear threat.
The close ally of Vladimir Putin, who now serves as deputy head of the Security Council, said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should refrain from attempting ‘legally void’ actions against Russia.
The savage invasion of Ukraine continues to leave behind a litany of alleged war crimes, including the repeated shelling of civilians, accounts of rape and torture, summary executions and use of banned cluster munitions.
Medvedev, who was Putin’s stand-in president between 2008 and 2012, said on Telegram today: ‘The idea of punishing the country that has the largest nuclear potential is absurd in itself. And potentially threatens the existence of mankind.’
He then accuses the US of trying to ‘sow chaos and destruction’ through the ICC, branding the Western superpower a ‘daredevil or an idiot’.
Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has warned of the end of the ‘existence of mankind’ if Moscow is punished for war crimes
In April, Russia test launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile in a show of nuclear strength
The Kremlin insider said: ‘All American history, from the time of the conquest of the Indians, is a bloody war of annihilation. And we are talking about the most brutal extermination of the civilian population.
‘It has become a signature style of American politics, whoever is in power there. During World War II, the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in this way – only to justify the huge expenses for the nuclear “Manhattan Project”.
‘Vietnam and Korea, Yugoslavia and Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and Syria are well aware of how disastrous the consequences of such invasions are – the list is long, and constantly updated.
‘America has killed more than 20million people in 37 countries since the end of World War II, according to a study published in Global Research.’
A Ukrainian serviceman inspects the ruins of Lyceum building destroyed in a Russian missile strike near Kharkiv today
He accused the United States of wanting to put Moscow in front of international tribunals, while itself never facing punishment for its own wars.
Medvedev continued: ‘The number of victims of the criminal policy of the United States today is comparable to the victims of the Nazi regime.
‘So who’s going to give us a show trial? Those who kill people and commit war crimes with impunity, but do not meet real condemnation in the international structures financed by them? Those who so firmly believed in their exclusivity and impunity? Those who believe they have the right to judge others, but be beyond the jurisdiction of any court?
‘With Russia, this will not work. They understand this very well. Therefore, the filthy dogs of war stop by with their disgusting bark.
A view of a damaged building in Mykolaiv as Russia continues to shell residential buildings across the country
‘But the United States and their useless mongrels should remember the words of Scripture: “Judge not, lest you be judged; So that one day ‘the great day of His wrath will not come to their house, and who can stand?”‘
Since Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Medvedev has regularly taken to social media to lash out at the West and those critical of Moscow.
Last month, he called those who ‘hate’ Russia, ‘degenerates’ and vowed to work to ‘make them disappear.’
He also warned any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war which could lead to ‘World War Three’.
Medvedev said that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Russia would be ready for ‘retaliatory steps’ – and that could include installing Iskander hypersonic missiles ‘on their threshold’.
The International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties held in The Hague is pictured, where Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes in Ukraine
‘For us, Crimea is a part of Russia. And that means forever. Any attempt to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country,’ Medvedev told the news website Argumenty i Fakty.
‘And if this is done by a NATO member-state, this means conflict with the entire North Atlantic alliance; a World War Three. A complete catastrophe.’
Britain is sending a police officer and seven lawyers to The Hague to help support investigations into war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
The UK and Norway will also deliver ‘war crimes investigation training’ to Ukrainian police.
And officers from Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Unit are assisting with ‘forensic and technical capabilities, such as biometrics and examination of digital devices’.