KEY POINTS
- Medvedev said Ukraine’s arms deals bring a ‘nuclear apocalypse’ closer
- Ukraine is set to receive a million rounds of ammunition from the EU
- Ukraine will also receive armor-piercing ammunition shells from the U.K.
A top Russian official has warned that the threat of nuclear conflict has increased as Ukraine receives more ammunition from Western allies.
In an interview, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Russian prime minister, warned that the consequences Ukraine will likely face in the war “are much more complicated” amid its numerous arms deals with the West and Europe.
“Has the threat of a nuclear conflict passed? No, it has not passed. It has increased. Each day when foreign weapons are delivered to Ukraine ultimately brings this same nuclear apocalypse closer,” Medvedev said, according to an extract of the interview published on Telegram, as translated by Ukrainska Pravda.
“I have the feeling that until a certain point in time, they did not believe in and did not see the extent of Russia’s determination, or the determination of its president or the Supreme Commander, to do what we did. And they miscalculated. The consequences are much more complicated than they could have been if they had signed a document with us in December,” Medvedev continued, referring to an agreement Russia proposed in December 2021 on the “non-expansion of NATO.”
Recently, Medvedev threatened to launch a hypersonic missile targeting the International Criminal Court’s The Hague as it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Medvedev’s remarks come after the EU reached a deal to send Ukraine about a million rounds of ammunition, and possible missiles, from its own stockpiles and joint purchases within the next 12 months to use in the war against Russia, as first reported by POLITICO.
In addition, the United Kingdom earlier this week announced it will send ammunition shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine. Depleted uranium, which is a by-product of enriched natural uranium, gives the ammunition armor-piercing properties.
The United States will also send Ukraine another $350 million in the military aid package, which will include more missiles and air defense ammunition. With that, the U.S. has committed over $32 billion in lethal aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February last year.
