Parky60 Loc: People's Republic of Illinois

Deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council says Donbas republics and other territories will be accepted into Russia, as Ukrainian counteroffensives gather pace; 'There is no going back'

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated in Russia from Ukraine.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that referenda being organized by Russian-installed and separatist authorities in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory will take place, and that "there is no going back."

"The Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) republics and other territories will be accepted into Russia."
Medvedev said the protection of all the territories would be significantly strengthened by the Russian armed forces, adding: "Russia has announced that not only mobilization capabilities, but also any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection."

The referenda due to take place in the Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces, as well as part of Mykolaiv province, from Friday are widely expected to produce results overwhelmingly endorsing joining Russia.

The v**es, being organized at a few days' notice under military occupation, have been labeled shams by Kyiv and its Western allies.

If formally admitted to the Russian Federation, the occupied territories, where Ukrainian counteroffensives have gathered pace in recent weeks, will be entitled to protection from Russian nuclear weapons under Moscow's nuclear doctrine.

Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions it is expected to try to annex, with only around 60% of Donetsk and 66% of Zaporizhzhia regions held by the Russian army.

Medvedev has regularly issued aggressive statements on the West and Ukraine in recent months, underlining his t***sformation from apparently Western-minded liberalizer as president from 2008-2012 to strident geopolitical hawk.

LogicallyRight Loc: Chicago

***The v**es, being organized at a few days' notice under military occupation, have been labeled shams by Kyiv and its Western allies.

>>>Like our e******ns are completely honest and above board. Like the fraud of 2020.

Parky60 Loc: People's Republic of Illinois

As usual, the denizens of OPP are busy being mesmerized by the shiny coin.

F.D.R.

Do Medvedev & Putin believe that they would actually get away with that unharmed? The Ukrainians could have some fun by sending a cryptic message to Moscow residents "not to use the subway system for their own safety". They would assume that an attack on the subway system is imminent causing the government to go crazy looking for hidden bombs and suspects while other forms of t***sportation became jammed. Fun fun fun.