By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 28 May 2025 • 22:51
• 2 minutes read
Dmitry Medvedev’s WWIII threat was criticised as reckless by US Special Envoy to Ukraine | Credits: Dmytro Larin/Shutterstock
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian President and current top security official, threatened “World War III” after Donald Trump criticised his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for his actions in Ukraine and telling him he was “playing with fire”.
The US responded to Medvedev’s threats, branding the often-inflammatory Russian official as reckless, as the war of words between the two global powers continues to escalate.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposed continuing the May 16th talks in Istanbul on June 2nd, again in the Turkish capital. UK news outlet The Independent said the latest verbal back-and-forth began over the weekend when Trump called Putin “crazy” for ordering the largest combined aerial attack on Ukraine with 350 missiles and drones. Trump then doubled down and said that what his Russian counterpart “doesn’t realise is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire.”
‘I hope Trump understands this’
Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012 and is now a top security official, responded to Trump’s Truth Social post with a post on X, saying, “I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!”
Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, then weighed in via a post on X.
“Stoking fears of WWIII is an unfortunate, reckless comment by @MedvedevRussiaE and unfitting of a world power,” Kellogg said. “President Trump @POTUS is working to stop this war and end the killing. We await receipt of the RU Memorandum (Term Sheet) that you promised a week ago. Cease fire now.”
Just a day earlier, after Trump’s initial comments about Putin becoming “crazy”, Lavrov suggested the US leader was “a man who wants results” but who had “got emotional”.
‘Absolutely reckless actions’
“President Trump is a man who wants results,” Lavrov said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. “He sees some of the Europeans are working to sabotage his efforts [on a peace settlement], pushing Ukraine to absolutely reckless actions.”
It’s unclear if he was referring to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s announcement of an agreement to co-produce long-range weapon systems for Ukraine. This statement came a day after Europe and the US removed their restriction on Ukraine’s ability to use long-range missiles.
It could lead to WWIII
In November of last year, Senior Russian lawmakers threatened that outgoing US President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory with ATACMS missiles could lead to World War III and the loss of Ukrainian statehood, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Putin’s new conditions ahead of June 2 talks with Kiev in Istanbul for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift a good part of sanctions on Russia, Reuters said on Wednesday. He wants Ukraine, as well as George, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics, left out of NATO.
Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions lifted, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, Reuters added.
One Russian source told Reuters that, if Putin realises he is unable to reach a peace deal on his own terms, he will seek to demonstrate to the Ukrainians and Europeans through military victories that “peace tomorrow will be even more painful.”
