Putin Crony: If You Punish Russia, We Might Just Nuke All of You

The seemingly mild-mannered former Russian president the world once saw as a moderate counterbalance to Vladimir Putin says it’s “absurd” to think of punishing Russia for its war against Ukraine because the country has “major nuclear potential.” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s powerful Security Council, doubled down on comments he made in St. Petersburg last month in an unhinged tirade against the U.S. on Telegram early Wednesday. Calling proposals to prosecute Russia for war crimes “legally void,” he said any attempts to do so “potentially threaten the existence of mankind.” “The idea of ​​punishing a country that has major nuclear potential is absurd in itself,” he wrote, before launching into a rant against the “idiot” U.S. Citing America’s history of “senseless wars,” Medvedev appeared to argue that Russia should not be held to account for slaughtering thousands of civilians in Ukraine because the U.S. military did the same in Vietnam, Syria, and Afghanistan, among other countries. “So who is it that’s planning to arrange a show trial for us?… This will not work with Russia,” he declared, before going on to direct a citation from the Book of Revelations at the U.S.: “For the great day of his wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”