Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday appeared to warn President Trump about the possibility of World War III amid escalating tensions between the nuclear powers.
“Regarding Trump’s words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,” Medvedev wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.
“I hope Trump understands this,” he added.
Medvedev was referencing remarks Trump made a day earlier on Truth Social. He said Putin was “playing with fire” after Sunday’s deadly Russian air strikes on Ukraine.
U.S. officials have been working to reach a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but they have had little success with Putin so far.
Hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides have been killed or injured since the war started in 2022.
Republican lawmakers have encouraged Trump to place additional sanctions on Russia, arguing that economic pressure could cause the Kremlin to ease up on the battlefield.
The president, who vowed to end the war in last year’s presidential campaign, told reporters Sunday he’s considering putting new sanctions in place.
When asked whether he was considering sanctions on Russia and Putin, Trump said, “Absolutely. He’s killing a lot of people. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him, right?”
“He’s killing a lot of people, and I’m not happy with that.”
Trump has ramped up his criticism of Putin recently with peace talks at a standstill.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever” Trump wrote in a Sunday Truth Social post.
“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia,” he continued.
Russia has suggested that it could present a peace memorandum in the coming days after U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg proposed Geneva as a location for continued talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected Trump’s proposal of a follow up at the Vatican, where the president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in April.
The developments come as House GOP members including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) say the U.S. should pull out of the war, despite a push from Trump and Senate Republicans for more sanctions on Moscow.
“With President Trump, both countries could be pursuing a peace deal that would lead to historic trade deals. That would be overwhelmingly incredible for the people of their countries. But instead, they are both crazy and pursue war. Shame on both of these countries and shame on any politician that wants to continue to engage America in more meddling actions in more foreign wars,” Greene told The Hill.
“I along with most Americans want nothing to do with either of these countries while they are at war with one another. And I’ll extend that to any country that wants to engage in war with others. The people of the world want peace and prosperity and that’s what I support,” she added.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), however, has signaled his readiness to push a bill imposing harsh sanctions on Russia that has more than 80 co-sponsors.
Updated at 11:16 a.m. EDT