New threats of nuclear war are launched by Dmitry Medvedev, with a “red line” the Crimean peninsula which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. “Any conflict between the American and Russian armies would not have a winner, it would cause a nuclear war, a “guaranteed defeat” with terrible consequences for both two sides,” he said.

“Efforts to recapture Crimea will be seen by Russia as a threat to the existence of the (Russian) state, which gives it the right to use any kind of weapon, including its nuclear arsenal,” the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. Security Council and former president and prime minister of Russia.

Responding to questions from users of the Russian social network VK, Medvedev quipped that “without the help of NATO, the Kiev regime in a week it wouldn’t exist”.

“If we talk about some serious things related to the attempt to recapture Crimea, I have said and written about it, it is obvious that this is the basis for the use of all means of protection, including those provided by the fundamental principles and doctrine of nuclear deterrence, with use of any kind of weapons when the existence of the state itself is threatened. And “an attempt to cut off part of the state” means a threat to the existence of the state itself. Obviously there are reasons for using any type of weapon. I hope our friends across the ocean understand this,” he said of the US.

Asked to compare the Russian and American armies, Medvedev said that it is possible to perceive this only during a military conflict. He added that it is not correct to say that the American military is the strongest and the Russian is the second strongest force in the world, because if they collide, there will be no winner – the conflict will inevitably turn into a nuclear war. Both countries have the potential to inflict a “guaranteed defeat”, a blow whose consequences would be “terrible”.

“I will say only one thing, which is already obvious. The Russian Federation is not at war with Ukraine, our country is at war with 3.6 million representatives of the NATO army. And (Russia is also fighting) with a population of 800 million people, which supplies equipment, weapons and money to the Kiev regime,” he added.

Medvedev urged to “achieve all objectives”, including “demilitarization”, proposing the “expulsion” of all foreign military forces from Ukraine and the creation of a 70-100 km “sanitary line”, which will be a zone of destruction of many types of weapons. “If this is not enough, make other decisions, nothing can be ruled out here. If we have to go to Kyiv, then let’s go to Kyiv, if we have to go to Lviv, then let’s go to Lviv,” he said.

Medvedev expects that international bodies will change, priority will be given to regional organizations. He also predicted that attempts to reform the UN Security Council and deprive permanent members of their right to veto will “lead to the end” of the organization.