Medvedev Warns West That Russia’s Nuclear Threat ’Is Not A Bluff’

Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, also warned that Moscow has the right to respond "without much consultation," as tensions rise with the West over referendums held in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

"We will make efforts to prevent the emergence of nuclear weapons with our hostile neighbors such as the NATO-controlled Ukraine," Medvedev underlined, adding that "The security of Washington, London, and Brussels is way important for NATO than the fate of the diminishing Ukraine which nobody wants."

Medvedev has regularly issued warning statements to the West and Ukraine in recent months, underlining his transformation from an apparently Western-minded liberalizer as president from 2008-2012 to strident geopolitical hawk.