05:58Russia: Without strategic nuclear 'superiority' Russia would be 'torn to pieces' - Medvedev
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would be 'torn to pieces' without a nuclear arms advantage during an interview with Russian media in Moscow on Wednesday.
"We have parity and even superiority in strategic nuclear forces. This is even more important for the existence of our country because if we didn't have it, we would have been torn to pieces for sure," he said.
Addressing questions from journalists, Medvedev stressed that an attempt by Kiev to 'recapture' Crimea would be a reason to use all means of defence, including those provided in the foundations of the Russian Nuclear Deterrence Policy.
Medvedev also commented on a statement by German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann who stated that Germany would execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Russian president Vladimir Putin enters German territory.
"[Imagine that] the acting head of nuclear state came to Germany for example and was arrested. What is this? A declaration of war against the Russian Federation," Medvedev said.
On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova. The report notes that Putin and Lvova-Belova are allegedly responsible for 'war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.'
The report notes that Putin and Lvova-Belova are allegedly responsible for 'war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.'
In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision 'historic' and added that the head of the 'terrorist state' and the functionary had 'officially become suspects in a war crime'.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the ICC's decisions to issue an arrest warrant for the Russian president 'null and void'. The diplomat noted that 'Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it'.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov commented that the ICC's decision 'outrageous and unacceptable,' and added that Russia, 'like a number of states, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
05:58Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would be 'torn to pieces' without a nuclear arms advantage during an interview with Russian media in Moscow on Wednesday.
"We have parity and even superiority in strategic nuclear forces. This is even more important for the existence of our country because if we didn't have it, we would have been torn to pieces for sure," he said.
Addressing questions from journalists, Medvedev stressed that an attempt by Kiev to 'recapture' Crimea would be a reason to use all means of defence, including those provided in the foundations of the Russian Nuclear Deterrence Policy.
Medvedev also commented on a statement by German Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann who stated that Germany would execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Russian president Vladimir Putin enters German territory.
"[Imagine that] the acting head of nuclear state came to Germany for example and was arrested. What is this? A declaration of war against the Russian Federation," Medvedev said.
On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova. The report notes that Putin and Lvova-Belova are allegedly responsible for 'war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.'
The report notes that Putin and Lvova-Belova are allegedly responsible for 'war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.'
In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision 'historic' and added that the head of the 'terrorist state' and the functionary had 'officially become suspects in a war crime'.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the ICC's decisions to issue an arrest warrant for the Russian president 'null and void'. The diplomat noted that 'Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it'.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov commented that the ICC's decision 'outrageous and unacceptable,' and added that Russia, 'like a number of states, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.