Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken hardliners, said Monday, Sept. 29, that Moscow has no interest in a war with Europe, but it remains possible.
In a Telegram post, Medvedev ridiculed repeated warnings in Western capitals that Russia could launch a war against NATO or EU countries within the next five years.
“In European countries, they keep talking about a war with Russia within the next five years. It should not happen, because it contradicts the interests of our country,” he wrote.
“Europe’s economy is weak and dependent on the US, and its culture is degenerating ingloriously. Europe is losing its identity, dissolving into aggressive migrants.”
The former Russian president also alleged that Europe is too divided and economically weak to challenge Moscow, dismissing European leaders as incapable of serious decisions and describing European societies as unwilling to fight.
“European leaders are insignificant degenerates, incapable of taking on the burden of responsibility for any serious matter.”
Medvedev claimed that Russia “does not need a war with anyone, including the frigid old Europe,” arguing that Moscow historically “always came to Europe as a liberator, not as an invader.”
He added that Russia’s focus now was on what he described as “restoring our returned lands” — a reference to occupied Ukrainian territories — which he called “difficult and costly.”
Still, Medvedev conceded that war could break out accidentally, warning of “the hyperactivity of frostbitten idiots” and suggesting such a conflict could escalate to the use of weapons of mass destruction.
“Therefore, one needs to be on the alert,” he added.
His remarks come as Europe is already on edge over a wave of mysterious drone sightings in recent weeks. Unidentified drones have been reported near military bases and critical infrastructure in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and other countries, prompting investigations and heightened security alerts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday accused Russia of using oil tankers to launch and control drones targeting European countries, citing intelligence reports as he called for tougher sanctions against Moscow’s energy trade.
Zelensky said Moscow’s reliance on its vast tanker fleet poses not only an economic but also a security threat beyond Ukraine.
“It is especially important that sanctions painfully hit Russia’s trade in energy resources, the entire infrastructure of Russia’s tanker fleet.
“Now there is intelligence information that Russians are using these very tankers to launch and control drones that they send against European countries.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has described the incidents as part of “hybrid attacks,” and officials in Copenhagen and Oslo said the flights appeared to be the work of a professional actor.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Medvedev has repeatedly drawn attention with inflammatory statements and threats against the West, often couched in crude language.