Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has warned Germany that any attempt to arrest President Vladimir Putin will represent a declaration of war on Russia and said Moscow could respond by bombing the International Criminal Court.
Medvedev made the threat after the the International Criminal Court at the Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of perpetrating war crimes by being involved in the forcible transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he supported the ruling and during a visit to Japan said “no one is above the law.”
Russia, which doesn’t recognize the authority of the ICC and is not a member of it, hasn’t reacted kindly.
“Some idiots, halfwits like the German justice minister, say, ‘Well, if he comes, we’ll arrest him.’.. Does he understand what that means? Let’s imagine… the incumbent head of a nuclear state arrives on the territory of, say, Germany and is arrested. What is this? A declaration of war on the Russian Federation!” Medvedev said in an interview Russian media outlets.
Medvedev said Moscow would respond by targeting “the Bundestag, the chancellor’s office, and so on.”
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used🧻.
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) March 17, 2023
The former president even suggested in a Telegram message sent to his followers that Russia could bomb the ICC headquarters.
“It is quite possible to imagine the targeted use of a hypersonic launch from the North Sea from a Russian ship at the Hague courthouse,” wrote Medvedev, describing the court as “shitty” and “useless”.
“The court is just a miserable international organization,” he added, noting that those working within it should “carefully look into the sky” to see if they can spot Russian missiles.
He went on to add that Russian relations with the west “have probably never been worse in history” and that NATO’s goal was to wipe out Russia altogether.
“They do not want to see the Russian Federation itself, they don’t need us. And this is their geopolitical, geostrategic idea of very old times. Why do they need such a country, which has a huge territory and the most serious nuclear shield, and which does not even obey the Americans?” said the former president.
Article: Medvedev Warns Germany Arrest of Putin Will be Declaration of War on Russia