Photo: Alexander Miridonov, Kommersant
Russia continues to seek to inflict “maximum defeat” on Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and prime minister and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said on Wednesday. His words came a few hours after former US President Donald Trump said he had received “strong signals” from Moscow about Russia’s readiness for peace in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
“Russia is advancing. The enemy is resisting, but not yet defeated,” Medvedev said. “Our main task now is to inflict maximum defeat on him on the battlefield.”
Medvedev also suggested that the United States would resume military aid to Ukraine, which the Trump administration temporarily suspended on Monday. In his opinion, this will happen after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a cooperation agreement with Washington on rare earth metals mining.
Medvedev’s statements came after Trump said during a speech to Congress that he had received an “important letter” from Zelenskyy. “The President of Ukraine says that Kyiv is ready to come to the negotiating table to move closer to achieving a lasting peace,” Trump said.
He even quoted an excerpt from Zelenskyy’s letter: “My team and I are ready to work under your strong leadership to achieve peace. We appreciate everything America has done to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.”
Trump also noted that his administration had received “strong signals” from Moscow that it was ready for peace. “Wouldn’t that be great?” the former US president asked rhetorically.
Medvedev, in turn, commented sharply on the suspension of US aid to Ukraine. The day before, he published a post on social media platform X, where he wrote that “the Trump administration no longer wants to feed the Kyiv Nazi mutt”. He also used aggressive rhetoric, calling Ukraine a “flea dog” that was allegedly “picked up by old Europe”.
