Tensions between Russia and the West are mounting – now Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and currently deputy head of the Security Council, has responded with harsh words to the latest criticism from US President Donald Trump:

In a post on X, Putin’s confidant threatened World War III. The Russian president himself also warned NATO countries.

“I know only one REALLY bad thing – World War III. I hope Trump understands that,” Medvedev wrote in English – a direct response to Trump’s warning that President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” and that “really bad things” were in store for Russia.

In addition, Vladimir Putin himself warned NATO nations: “If the decision is made to allow long-range artillery strikes deep into Russian territory, this will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of NATO countries, the US and Europe in the war in Ukraine. This would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia.”

Trump criticizes Putin’s war

Trump had spoken out against Putin in unusually clear terms over the weekend, sharply condemning his ongoing attacks on Ukraine. “He has gone completely mad,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “He is killing so many people unnecessarily — and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are hitting cities in Ukraine for no reason.”

Speaking to journalists, Trump also reiterated that he would consider new sanctions against Russia if he were re-elected.

Moscow speaks of “emotional overreaction”

The reaction from the Kremlin was not long in coming. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Trump’s statements as “emotionally charged.” The harsh words of the former US president were an expression of the tense mood at the beginning of a sensitive diplomatic process, according to Moscow.

Medvedev’s threat marks a new level of escalation in the already tense rhetoric between Russia and the West. The 58-year-old has attracted attention in recent years with a series of aggressive and confrontational statements, but his warning of a world war in direct response to Trump adds a new sharpness to the geopolitical exchange.

Image: APA