Ex-Russian president claims UK politicians are valid military targets.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declares British politicians as legitimate military targets

“The U.K. acts as Ukraine’s ally providing it with military aid in the form of equipment and specialists, i.e., de facto is leading an undeclared war against Russia,” said Medvedev, a senior member of the Kremlin Security Council. “That being the case, any of its public officials (either military, or civil, who facilitate the war) can be considered as a legitimate military target.”

Medvedev, who was the president of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and was the prime minister of Russia between 2012 and 2020, has continued to make heated comments about the war and the West on social media, including calling for the assassination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly affirms Ukraine’s right to self-defense

These comments came in response to remarks by a top British official. Speaking in Estonia on Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly affirmed his belief that Ukraine “has a right” to hit targets beyond its borders as a part of its self-defense against Russian aggression.

“It’s important to remember that Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself,” Cleverly said. “It has a legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.”

Cleverly’s comments demonstrated a divergence between the United Kingdom’s and the United States’s stances on the war. U.S. officials have maintained that they do not want their weapons used to strike targets within Russia’s borders to avoid a possible escalation of the war.

Russian Ministry of Defense accuses Ukraine of launching drones towards Moscow

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of launching eight drones toward Moscow, damaging two buildings.

“Kyiv chose the path of intimidation of Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in response to the attack, which Ukrainian officials denied responsibility for. “We are concerned about attempts to evoke a response from Russia. It seems that is what they [Ukraine wants] … Kyiv provokes us to mirror actions. We will see what to do about this.”

Conclusion

The situation between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate, with both sides taking aggressive actions. The differing stances of the United Kingdom and the United States on Ukraine’s right to self-defense further complicate the situation. It remains to be seen how this conflict will be resolved.