MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The West fails to realize that the confrontation between Russia and NATO countries may at some point lead to a preemptive nuclear strike, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, told reporters during a visit to Vietnam.
"There are some irreversible rules of war. If it comes to [deliveries of] nuclear weapons [to Ukraine], a preemptive strike will have to be carried out," he said.
In his opinion, the West still fails to grasp this and believes that this will not happen.
"It will, under certain circumstances," Medvedev assured.
Commenting on the expanding list of weapons and military equipment that NATO countries are sending to Ukraine, Medvedev said it was quite possible that the Kiev government "receives warplanes" and "maybe even nuclear weapons."
"But it will mean that a missile with a nuclear warhead will come flying to them," he said.
In his words, Washington’s logic under the current circumstances is quite easy to understand.
"The United States operates largely within the field of its pragmatic interests. They do not wage a war, they are making money instead. They are trying to eliminate their centuries-long enemy," Medvedev said.
"As far as Europe is concerned, it is a strange story for me. They keep heating up tensions with their decisions," the Russian official continued. "Europe has gone mad."
On May 21, US President Joe Biden announced at a press news conference following a G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, that the West would begin training Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation aircraft, including the F-16. Meanwhile, according to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Washington will discuss with its allies in the coming months which countries will send F-16 fighter jets to Kiev.