Russia ramping up production of ‘most powerful’ weapons, ex-president boasts

MOSCOW, Russia — Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday the country was ramping up production of new-generation weapons to protect itself from enemies in Europe, the United States and Australia.

“We are increasing production of the most powerful means of destruction. Including those based on new principles,” Medvedev said on messaging app Telegram.

“Our enemy dug in not only in the Kyiv province of our native Malorossiya,” Medvedev said, using the term to describe territories of modern-day Ukraine that were part of the Russian Empire under the tsars.

“It is Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and a whole number of other places that pledged allegiance to the Nazi,” repeating debunked claims by the Kremlin that Kyiv’s government is a neo-Nazi regime, used to justify its invasion.

Medvedev, who serves as deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, did not provide details of the weapons.

President Vladimir Putin repeatedly said that Russia has been developing new types of weapons including hypersonic weapons that he boasts can circumvent all existing missile defense systems.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is launched by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian navy from the White Sea, in the north of Russia, on July 19, 2021. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Since Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, 57-year-old Medvedev has regularly taken to social media to write increasingly bombastic posts.

With Moscow on the back foot in its offensive in pro-Western Ukraine, the military stalemate has raised fears that Russia could resort to its nuclear arsenal to achieve a military breakthrough.

On Friday, Putin said Russia could amend its military doctrine by introducing the possibility of a preemptive strike to disarm an enemy, in an apparent reference to a nuclear attack.

The Kremlin chief claimed that Russia’s cruise missiles and hypersonic systems were “more modern and even more efficient” than those of the United States.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.