Putin’s ally raises WW3 fears as he warns UK troops may become ‘legal targets’
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a terrifying warning to the UK.
Mr Medvedev, who has repeatedly raised the spectre of nuclear war over the past 20 months of conflict in Ukraine, hit out at the newly-appointed British Defence Secretary after he raised the possibility of Ukrainian troops being trained by UK soldiers directly on Ukraine’s soil.
Taking to social media platforms including X and Telegram, Mr Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, wrote a similar move would “turn the British military instructors into our Armed Forces’ legal targets”.
The Russian politician went on to claim the British instructors would be “ruthlessly eliminated, and this time not as mercenaries but as British NATO specialists”.
Mr Medvedev went on to threaten actions against NATO countries by attacking Germany, whose defence committee chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann advocated last week in favour of supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.
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This, Mr Medvedev claimed, would enable Kyiv to launch attacks deep into the Russian territory “to weaken the supply of our army”.
He added: “That is, it is in accordance with international law. Well, in that case the strikes against the German plants which produce these missiles, will also fully correspond to international law.”
These politicians, Mr Medvedev claimed as he ended his concerning message, “are actively pushing us to World War III”.
While Ukraine isn’t yet a NATO member, both Germany and the UK are part of the Western alliance, and an act of aggression towards them could escalate tensions in light of the military partnership’s Article 5.
Mr Medvedev’s outburst came hours after Mr Shapps discussed the successful programme of training for the Ukraine military being undertaken by Britain as well as other Western allies.
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The programme is on track to have taught skills to more than 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of this year.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Shapps suggested members of the British army may eventually do this training job directly in Ukraine, albeit far from the frontline.
He said: “I was talking today about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well.
“Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things ‘in country’ – not just training, but also we’re seeing BAE [the UK defence firm], for example, move into manufacturing in country, for example. I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing. So I think there will be a move to get more training and production in the country.”
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After the publication of the interview and Mr Medvedev’s response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seemingly rowed back on Mr Shapps’ suggestion, saying it is not for “the here and now”.
The Conservative leader said during a visit to Burnley: “What the Defence Secretary was saying was that it might well be possible one day in the future for us to do some of that training in Ukraine.
“But that’s something for the long-term, not the here and now – there are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict. That’s not what’s happening.
“What we are doing is training Ukrainians. We’re doing that here in the UK. It’s something that everyone should be proud of, because it’s making an enormous difference.”
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