A building destroyed by a Russian military attack on Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. (Reuters)
Russia could hit targets in the West if the country is hit with US rockets, the former prime minister has said.
Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, issued the warning after the United States agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that could accurately attack long-range Russian targets.
Medvedev told Al Jazeera: “God willing, if these weapons are used against Russian territory, our armed forces will have no choice but to attack the decision-making centers.
“Of course, it must be understood that the final decision-making centers in this case, unfortunately, are not located in the territory of Kyiv.”
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Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev sent the warning in a television interview. (Getty)
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that “we will not send rocket systems into Ukraine to attack Russia,” a decision Medvedev called “rational.”
Biden did not rule out providing any specific weapons, but seemed to put conditions on how they could be used.
On Wednesday, Biden agreed to provide Kyiv with high-mobility artillery rocket systems that can accurately hit targets up to 80 km (50 miles) as part of a $ 700 million (560 million) package of weapons. pounds sterling).
Senior government officials said they agreed to provide weapons after Ukraine gave “assurances” that it would not use missiles to attack Russia.
Ukraine had called on the West to send more long-range weapons as it tried to push back Russian troops in the Donbas region.
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The West has become increasingly willing to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons, including M777 shells, as its forces fight the Russians more successfully than intelligence officials had predicted.
But US intelligence has also warned of growing risks, especially given a mismatch between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent ambitions and the performance of his army.
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Medvedev warned that the world was approaching a nuclear war after the invasion of Ukraine.
He added: “The riders of the Apocalypse are on their way and now all hope is with the Lord God Almighty.”
Russian state television has previously claimed that the war in Ukraine is a “rehearsal” for a bigger fight with NATO and has suggested that nuclear weapons could be used.
Thousands have been killed in Ukraine and millions more have been displaced since the Russian invasion on February 24, which Moscow calls a “special military operation” to “de-Nazize” its neighbor.
Ukraine and its Western allies call this an unfounded pretext for a war to seize territory.