Russia’s response to new US sanctions should involve “military deterrence”, the country’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday.
US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Friday introducing new sanctions designed to pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine, after Congress gave its approval following months of delay. Medvedev, a senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of Moscow’s most prominent anti-Western hawks, did not elaborate on his remarks. The legislation, named after the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, takes aim at Russia’s energy and defence sectors alongside Putin and other senior officials.
Medvedev served as Russia’s head of state between 2008 and 2012 in an arrangement that allowed then-prime minister Putin to circumvent term limits. The 61-year-old regularly attacks Ukraine and the West on social media, tirades his critics say are an attempt to retain political relevance but that others suggest reflect senior Russian thinking.
Since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in 2022, Russian officials including Putin have described Ukraine and its supporters as “terrorists”, accusations dismissed by Kyiv as baseless wartime propaganda.
