Former Russian president says parts of Ukraine should “go back home” as he rules out peace talks with Zelenskyy.
Dmitry Medvedev, vice president of the Russian Security Council, says Ukraine is part of Russia and rules out peace talks with current Ukrainian leaders.
In a bellicose speech Monday at a youth festival in the southern city of Sochi, Medvedev said Russia would carry out what it calls its “special military operation” until the other side capitulates.
The former president and prime minister said what he called historic parts of Russia should “come home.”
Medvedev spoke in front of a map of Ukraine, which showed the country as a much smaller patch of landlocked territory, squeezed against Poland, with Russia in full control of its eastern, southern and Black Sea coasts.
“One of Ukraine's former leaders said at some point that Ukraine is not Russia,” Medvedev said.
“That concept must disappear forever. Ukraine is definitely Russia,” she said to applause from the audience.
Medvedev said peace talks would not be possible with the current Ukrainian leadership, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He said any future Ukrainian government that wants to engage in talks would have to recognize what he called the new reality on the ground.
Commenting on East-West relations, Medvedev, who accused US special forces and military advisers of waging war against Russia, said relations between Moscow and Washington were worse than during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Accusations against Germany
On Sunday, Medvedev joined a chorus of Kremlin voices accusing Western countries of involvement in the war in Ukraine after a recording of wiretapping of German military officers was posted on Russian social media.
The discussion revolved around the potential impact of Ukraine's use of German-made Taurus missiles.
The conversation included comments about aiming the missiles at targets such as the Kerch Bridge, which links the Russian mainland to occupied Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send missiles to Ukraine, fearing it would escalate the conflict.
In a Telegram post on Sunday, Medvedev criticized the German military and claimed the country was preparing to attack Russia.
