Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current deputy chair of the country’s Security Council, has accused German conservative leader Friedrich Merz of making incendiary comments about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Merz has said in the past that if he was in power Germany could send long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev – a step Chancellor Olaf Scholz has steadfastly refused to take.
Medvedev wrote on Telegram that these missiles are incapable of significantly altering the course of the battle in Ukraine’s favour.
“But the risk of the conflict escalating into a more dangerous phase is greatly increased by cruise missile strikes,” he said.
He claimed Merz and some other European politicians want “to drag the war onto their territory.”
Merz, who is gunning to become Germany’s next chancellor following the collapse of Scholz’s centre-left coalition, recently told the news magazine Stern he was still open to sending the missiles to Kiev.
In the interview published on Sunday, he proposed that an ultimatum be given to Moscow: If the bombing of the civilian population in Ukraine does not stop within 24 hours, the range restrictions on existing weapons already supplied to Kiev will be lifted.
If that’s not enough, Taurus missiles will be delivered a week later, Merz said.
Ukraine has been defending itself with Western aid against the Russian invasion for more than two and a half years.
Medvedev, who was regarded as a liberalizing force during his time as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has frequently attracted attention since the beginning of the war with harsh threats, including the use of nuclear weapons against the West.
