Russia’s Medvedev warns of Ukraine’s ‘elimination from world map’

Former Russian president has warned of Ukraine’s elimination from the world map amid NATO’s military assistance to Kiev.

In his latest post on Telegram on Thursday, Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, warned that the West’s military response to the Ukrainian conflict could mean “Ukraine would lose the remnants of state sovereignty and disappear from the world map.”

Medvedev accused NATO of creating a “real threat of world conflict” by sending military equipment and troops to Ukraine and other countries on Europe’s eastern flank, such as Estonia and Lithuania.

“NATO continues, contrary to logic and common sense, to approach the borders of Russia, creating a real threat of world conflict and the death of a significant part of humanity,” he wrote.

Medvedev also accused EU leaders of “forcing the unfortunate Ukrainians to sacrifice their lives to join the European Union”.

He warned that “ordinary Europeans will be fiercely cold in their homes this winter,” after the EU imposed sanctions on Moscow and caused Russia to reduce gas flows to most of the EU countries.

His warnings came on the heels of his previous remarks that Ukraine and the West would face a “Judgment Day” response if they tried to oppose Russia’s control of Crimea by military action.

The former president also warned that the refusal of Ukraine and Western powers to recognize Moscow’s ownership of the peninsula posed a “systemic threat” for Russia, and raised the alarm over the Kremlin’s use of maximum force if the territory is attacked.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made similar comments on Wednesday, saying that Russia’s military “tasks” and objectives in Ukraine will expand further if the West keeps supplying Kiev with weapons and armaments.

“That means the geographical tasks will extend still further from the current line,” Lavrov said.

‘Grandfather with dementia’

Meanwhile, Medvedev dismissed the US sanctions against Russia and depicted President Joe Biden as a “strange grandfather with dementia”.

“The fact that the Americans elected their president a strange grandfather with dementia, who, forgetting about his duties, loves another country much more than his own,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

He said the US and the EU have “lost their multi-billion dollar investments in the Russian economy” by imposing financial sanctions on Moscow.

Belarus: West fanning flames of war 

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Western countries of fomenting the war between Russia and Ukraine, and called on the sides to halt the conflict in Ukraine in order to avoid the “abyss of nuclear war.”

“We must stop, reach an agreement, end this mess, operation and war in Ukraine,” Lukashenko said in an interview with AFP news agency in Minsk on Thursday.

“There’s no need to go further. Further lies the abyss of nuclear war. There’s no need to go there,” he added.

He also said NATO allies could have attacked Russia if Moscow had not been not quick enough to "liberate" Ukraine.

“If Russia had not got ahead of you, members of NATO, you would have organized and struck a blow against it,” he said, echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Belarusian leader said the ongoing conflict could have been avoided if the West had given Moscow the security guarantees it wanted. “You, members of NATO and Americans, needed war.”

He demanded that Ukrainian authorities hold talks with Russia and agree that “they will never threaten” the country.

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