Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that while Russia has no plans to attack NATO or Europe, it will respond fully and potentially with pre-emptive strikes – if the West escalates the Ukraine conflict. That’s according to state TASS news agency.
“We need to act accordingly. To respond in full. And if necessary, launch pre-emptive strikes,” Medvedev said.
"What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war (launches of Western missiles, satellite intelligence, etc.), sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe," he added, according to TASS.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, also dismissed Western claims that Russia might attack Europe as "complete rubbish," accusing Western officials of deliberately stoking tensions.
The Kremlin acknowledged Medvedev’s statements as his personal opinion but agreed that tensions were high.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was reviewing U.S. threats of harsher sanctions.
Medvedev’s remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened severe trade restrictions on Russia unless a peace deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days. Trump also announced that NATO members had agreed to send additional weapons to Kyiv including Patriot missiles.
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Speaking on the Armenian public radio on 9 January, Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan made some important announcements for 2026. He said that Yerevan is currently discussing with Baku the range of products it can potentially export to Azerbaijan.
Fears of the end of the West, to paraphrase Mark Twain, may be premature. But they might not be premature for long.
The European Union faced calls to implement a range of economic countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on eight European countries in connection with Greenland.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a decree recognising Kurdish language rights, as government forces advanced against U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters despite U.S. calls for restraint.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
Ashley St. Clair, mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, has filed a lawsuit against Musk’s company xAI, alleging that its AI tool Grok generated explicit images of her, including one portraying her as underage.
Egypt and Sudan have welcomed an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to restart mediation with Ethiopia in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute over Nile River water sharing.
Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that the companies profited unfairly from his early support of the artificial intelligence firm, according to a court filing made public on Friday.
Lithuanian prosecutors have charged six foreign nationals with terrorism over an alleged plot to attack a private military supplier providing aid to Ukraine.
The European Union faced calls to implement a range of economic countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on eight European countries in connection with Greenland.
Six people have been killed after a massive fire tore through a shopping centre in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, authorities said, as firefighters battled through the night to contain the blaze.
The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Economic Forum has warned.
The Trump administration has denied a report that countries would be required to pay $1bn to join a proposed U.S.-backed peace initiative, after Bloomberg News said a draft charter set out a membership fee.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 18 January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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