Kremlin stooge Dmitry Medvedev has taken aim at Donald Trump over his threat to slap punitive tariffs on Russiaunless a peace deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days, branding it a “theatrical ultimatum”. In a withering verdict, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation insisted his country “didn’t care” what the US President said.
Speaking at the White House yesterday, Mr Trump provided few details on how the measures would be implemented, but described them as secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, the US President said European allies would buy “billions and billions” of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country’s supplies of weapons. He made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
In recent days the 79-year-old has voiced increasing frustration about Mr Putin, and told reporters: “My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night. It just keeps going on and on and on.”
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s President himself between 2008 and 2012 before Putin made an entirely unsurprising return to the top job, made his disdain clear in a message posted on X.
He said: “Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin.
“The world shuddered, expecting the consequences.
“Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.”
Medvedev, 59, has developed a reputation for incendiary rhetoric, especially since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Once seen as a relative moderate, he has adopted increasingly extreme positions, using his various social media accounts to threaten Western nations with nuclear war, denounce Ukraine’s leadership in crude terms, and call for the destruction of the Ukrainian state.
He has labelled NATO “a criminal organisation” and described Ukrainian officials as “cockroaches” and in 2023, warned that Russia would strike any country that arrested President Vladimir Putin under an International Criminal Court warrant.
His shift from technocratic figurehead to outspoken hardliner has drawn international criticism and appears aimed at reaffirming his loyalty to Mr Putin.
Critics suggest his statements are designed to bolster his political relevance amid speculation over future leadership reshuffles within the Kremlin’s inner circle.