Putin ally: Russia’s defeat in Ukraine could trigger nuclear war

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, warned on Thursday that a Russian defeat in Ukraine could cause a nuclear war to break out. 

Medvedev said in a Telegram post that a nuclear power losing a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war, which he said was an “elementary” conclusion. He noted that many countries from around the world are meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and have agreed that Russia must lose the war in Ukraine to achieve peace in the region. 

Medvedev said nuclear powers have not lost major conflicts “on which their fate depends” before, but this should be “obvious.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February that the conflict will only end after Russia completely withdraws from Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean Peninsula that Russia has occupied since 2014. 

Putin has repeatedly threatened to use at least tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine as the conflict has dragged on much longer than experts think Putin intended. Tactical nuclear weapons are meant to be more contained than other nuclear weapons and used on the battlefield. 

Putin claimed in October that Russia would not use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but President Biden cast doubt on that, questioning why he continually mentions Russia’s nuclear arsenal if he does not have any intention of using it. 

Reuters reported that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Medvedev’s comments do not mean that Russia is escalating the situation. He said his post is in line with Russian policy to use nuclear weapons after conventional ones have been used and the “very existence” of Russia is threatened. 

The Biden administration announced it would send an additional $3.75 billion in military aid to Ukraine earlier this month. The aid includes infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems and surface-to-air missiles.