Former Russian President Declares War Won't End Without Siege of Kyiv

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of current Russian President Vladimir Putin, has suggested that the war in Ukraine will not end until Putin's army takes control of Kyiv.

Medvedev, currently serving as deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, argued in an interview published by Russian state media agency TASS on Thursday that Kyiv is "a Russian city" that is being run by a team of "Russia's opponents," led by the United States.

The former president said that he was uncertain how far Ukrainian borders would be pushed back at the end of the "special military operation," Moscow's euphemistic term for the Ukraine war, but insisted that Kyiv "should probably" become part of Russia.

"Where to stop? I don't know," said Medvedev. "I think that considering what I have said [about the necessity to create a safety cordon] we will have to work much and hard. Will it be Kyiv? Yes, it should probably be Kyiv as well. If not now then some time later, probably during some other stage of this conflict's development."

"Kyiv is a Russian city in its roots, it is managed by an international team of Russia's opponents headed by the United States of America," he continued. "All decisions are taken across the pond and in the NATO headquarters. This is absolutely obvious. This is why yes, it may be Kyiv as well."

Medvedev went on to say that Ukraine's chances of remaining a country after the war were "not very high," while proposing that if any independent nation remains it may in a small territory centered in the city of Kyiv, which is located in eastern Ukraine close to the Polish border.

"But this is a complicated process, not only military, but also political," he added. "And not only military forces, not only the military, but people inhabiting those lands as well should play or say their word in this process."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Thursday.

Although he was once considered a somewhat more moderate potential successor to Putin, Medvedev has become well-known for frequently making hyperbolic statements in the almost two years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Medvedev has repeatedly suggested launching nuclear strikes on enemies of Russia. He has also made threatening statements towards NATO member states, with the ongoing expansion of the alliance having been one of the reasons Putin cited for launching the Ukraine invasion on February 24, 2022.

In a post to Telegram last Sunday, Medvedev made it clear that anything other than a total victory in Ukraine would be unacceptable for Moscow, vowing to start a "global war with the Western countries" by firing nuclear weapons at Kyiv, Washington, D.C., Berlin and London if Russian forces are defeated.