Russia threatens a ‘doomsday’ if Ukraine attacks Crimea

Almost five months have passed since Russia began its attack on Ukraine. The war continues and Dmitri Medvédev (in the image), former president of Russia and current deputy security adviser, has launched an apocalyptic threat.

We are facing a war in which intimidating the enemy is crucial. In fact, both sides continue to fight for strategic positions that offer advantages in the short and medium term, given that the conflict may take longer than expected.

One of these hot spots has been the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed back in 2014, despite having been a Ukrainian territory until that point.

Dmitri Medvedev made clear the relevance of the Crimean Peninsula with the most direct threat that a Russian leader has made since the start of the war.

In the event that Ukraine attacks the Crimean peninsula, Dmitri Medvedev said, there would be a swift, tough action that would mean “doomsday” for Ukraine if Crimea is attacked. Medvedev made his threat in a statement to Russian state media TASS.

"Some ecstatic, bloody clowns, who pop up there with some statements now and then, are trying to threaten us, I mean attacks on Crimea and so on," Medvedev told a group of WWII veterans in Volgograd.

"Should anything of the kind happen, they will be faced with a doomsday, very quick and tough, immediately. There will be no avoiding it," Medvedev continued. "But they keep on provoking the general situation by such statements."

The former president was even more specific in his threat. "You can be sure that the objectives of this operation will be fulfilled. They are related to the elimination of existing threats to Russia."

Mikhail Podolyak, who's a top adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Medvedev was merely "a little man forgotten by history, trying to seem serious and scary, but in reality causing only pity. 'A little more, and I'll show you all!' Show what? Kill another child?"

Zelensky responded to Medvedev's "doomsday" remark by saying it wasn't a sober remark, and that Ukrainians wouldn't be intimidated.

The Russian senator Andréi Klishas said, through a Telegram message, viralized by pro-Russian groups that they have to “denazify and demilitarize” Ukraine.

“Threats to attack Crimea or the port of Crimea prove that the whole of Ukraine must be denazified and demilitarized”, Andrei Klishas said. “Otherwise, there will always be a threat to our territory, our citizens, and our infrastructure”, he added in that message on Telegram.

Medvedev's “doomsday” remark was likely sparked by Ukrainian Minister of Defense Vadym Skibitskyi on Saturday saying that Russian military facilities in the occupied Crimea are on the target list to strike by Ukrainian troops.

The arrival of US HIMARS systems (light missile launchers) during the month of June in Ukraine allows local forces to target the Crimean Peninsula.

The HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a high mobility artillery rocket system, which allows up to six missiles to be launched from a moving truck.

A line of vehicles would allow a multiple launch from Ukraine which, given the Russian threats, could deal a serious blow to its advance on Ukrainian soil.

One of the objectives that Ukraine plans to attack in Crimea is the site of the Russian Kalibr missiles, which are repeatedly fired from the now Russian peninsula, as numerous Ukrainian soldiers have confessed.

It remains to be seen if such attacks will take place and if Russia will fullfill its threat.