Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, a key ally of President Vladimir Putin and former president, issued a sharp warning to U.S. President Donald Trump over potential plans to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Writing on the state-controlled Russian social media platform, Medvedev said such a move could “end badly for everyone”—especially for Trump himself.
“If the ‘business-peacemaker’ means Tomahawks, the phrase is wrong,” Medvedev posted, referring to Trump. “The supply of these missiles could end badly for everyone. And above all – for Trump himself.”
His remarks follow Trump’s warning that Russia would face consequences if it failed to end the war in Ukraine. “Trump said that if the President of Russia does not resolve the Ukrainian conflict, it will end badly for him,” Medvedev noted, calling it “the 101st threat.”
Medvedev also reiterated Moscow’s long-standing position that Russia cannot distinguish between conventional and nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles in flight.
“It has been said a hundred times, in a form even understandable to the star-spangled uncle, that it is impossible to distinguish a nuclear version of a Tomahawk from a conventional one in flight,” he wrote. “Their launch will not be carried out by Banderite Kyiv, but by the United States. Read: Trump. How should Russia respond? Exactly!”
He added that he hopes Trump’s threats are just political bluster, prompted by “prolonged negotiations with the coke-addled clown,” a reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He mockingly concluded: “Like sending nuclear submarines closer to Russia. You know how it is: a submarine surfaced in the steppes of Ukraine.”
Medvedev, who previously served as Russia’s president and prime minister, has a long history of issuing threats in public statements, particularly in response to Western involvement in the war. He has repeatedly targeted the United States and has engaged in direct rhetorical confrontations with Donald Trump.
In an earlier exchange, Trump dismissed Medvedev as “a stupid person” during remarks at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. At the time, Trump said he had ordered two U.S. nuclear submarines “to be positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to what he described as “highly provocative” threats by the former Russian president.
“I acted just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said. “Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances.”
He did not disclose where the submarines were being deployed, consistent with standard U.S. military protocol. Medvedev had made the threats after Trump warned Moscow that it must agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face harsh sanctions.
The episode reflects a pattern: Medvedev provoking with nuclear rhetoric and Trump responding with open disdain.