Top Russian Official Warns of Nuclear Strike Against Washington If Forced to Give Up Territory Won In Ukraine War

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy head of the Russian Security Council that controls Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, has threatened a nuclear strike against Washington if the United States and its allies act to force Russia to give up its territorial gains in Ukraine. Mr. Medvedev has threatened a nuclear strike on several occasions amid the war in Ukraine, most recently in the summer of 2023 when the much-vaunted Ukrainian counter-offensive loomed large—before it ultimately failed to take back territory that Russia annexed and now calls its own. Now, as Russian top brass believes another Ukrainian counter-offensive may be in the works, Mr. Medvedev has issued a new nuclear warning. While its contours are basically the same as prior warnings, it seems to be the first time that Mr. Medvedev has threatened the use of nuclear weapons if Ukraine and its western backers try to force Moscow to relinquish control of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions that the Kremlin says are part of Russia....