Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Thursday, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that Russia does not intend to attack NATO or Europe. However, he warned that if the West presses the Ukraine conflict further, Russia would respond and consider preemptive strikes if needed.
Medvedev’s assertion, also a covert ally of Vladimir Putin, was shared in full by the TASS state news agency. The message shows that Russia sees the conflict with the West over Ukraine intensifying after Trump called for a peace settlement in 50 days. Both parties have repeatedly stated the dangers of escalation, with both suggesting the conflict may be a proxy war between the two largest nuclear powers in the world.
Is Russia planning to attack NATO or Europe?
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, positioned himself as a liberal moderniser and deputy chairman of the Security Council.
He rejected repeated NATO and Western European assertions that Russia might someday attack a nation of the U.S.-led military alliance, but he also stated that Russia must be prepared to respond. “in full” should the West push any further.
“The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense,”
Medvedev stated, adding that Western officeholders were intentionally aiming to ratchet up uncertainties.
“We need to act accordingly. To respond in full. And if necessary, launch preemptive strikes,”
Medvedev was cited as saying. He stated that many in the West had “treachery in their blood” and an obsolete idea of their own superiority.
The Kremlin stated that Medvedev’s comments reflected his personal opinion and affirmed that his concerns regarding Europe’s “confrontational’ climate were valid.
How has NATO responded to Russian threats recently?
NATO and Western European nations claim that Russia is a continuing and growing military threat. There is also a risk that Russia could someday directly attack a member state of NATO, although no attack has happened yet.
In the June 2025 summit, NATO formally acknowledged Russia as a “long-term threat” to collective security, at which time it made a commitment to increasing defense spending and acting to exhibit increased readiness to deter any aggression from Russia.
Some NATO member states warned that in five years, Russia might develop a military capability that directly threatened NATO territory, reinforcing the acute sense of risk that NATO members experienced.
European nations, such as the Baltic states, Poland, and Finland, that share a border with Russia are subject to special risks from Russian hybrid and military threats–cyber-attacks, sabotage of critical infrastructures, weaponized migration, and a ramp-up of troop numbers adjacent to NATO’s borders.
