Russia will 'bomb' country that arrests President Putin, warns ally
What's the story
Dmitry Medvedev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's close ally, warned that Russia will launch a war and bomb any country that arrests Putin. The threatening message was made by him in a video posted on Telegram. The warning comes just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged involvement in the abductions of Ukrainian children.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Medvedev's remarks came after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on March 17 on war crime charges of unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine. Earlier on March 16, the United Nations (UN) investigators said that Russia had forced the transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to regions under its control, which constituted a "war crime."
Statement
Putin's arrest would mean 'war on Russia': Dmitry Medvedev
Medvedev, who is Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, said any attempt to arrest Putin would mean a "declaration of war against Russia." "Let's imagine that the current head of the nuclear state (Putin) went to a territory, say Germany, and was arrested. All our assets-all our missiles et-cetera-would fly to the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament), to the Chancellor's office," he said.
Twitter Post
Threat of nuclear conflict has not gone away: Medvedev
Former President of Russia and current deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev: "The threat of nuclear conflict has not gone away; it has increased."
— GraphicW (@GraphicW5) March 22, 2023
"Every day of foreign weapons deliveries to Ukraine brings the nuclear apocalypse closer." pic.twitter.com/vojc42fImd
Previous warnings
Russia issued nuke-war warnings earlier as well
Russia has repeatedly issued warnings to the West and European countries over their military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. Reportedly, Putin said that Russia would be "forced to react" to the developments. "Russia will be forced to react bearing in mind that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a nuclear component," he said following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Information
Moscow denies allegation of war crimes
While issuing the arrest warrant for Putin, the International Criminal Court, located in The Hague, stated that "there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility" for the crimes. Despite its disastrous one-year invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has routinely refuted criminal charges.
Development
Putin might soon be replaced, said Ukraine intelligence official
Earlier this week, a Ukrainian intelligence official claimed that Putin might soon be replaced as Russia's president as dissatisfaction against him is allegedly growing within the country amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, claimed Putin's successor search has already begun as "the circle" around him is narrowing, adding the Russian leader is becoming increasingly toxic.