A free press is the cornerstone of a free country, and the treatment of journalists exposes the true character of any society. In that context it is both appalling and predictable that Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president from 2008 to 2012 and current deputy head of its security council, has branded the editors of The Times as “legitimate military targets.”
His threat followed the newspaper’s reporting this week on the assassination by Kyiv of Russia’s nuclear and chemical weapons chief, Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, in Moscow. Medvedev warned that editors should “be careful”, declaring that “anything goes in London”.
The British Government has rightly condemned Moscow’s “desperate rhetoric” – an apposite phrase. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has become one of the Kremlin’s most inflammatory propagandists. He has threatened hypersonic missile strikes on The Hague after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for President Vladimir Putin, and regularly brandishes nuclear threats whenever events turn against Moscow. That he remains a central Kremlin figure underscores the regime’s moral bankruptcy.
No journalist should ever face threats for simply doing their job, and any regime serious about peace – as frequently Moscow likes to claim – would have condemned such remarks without hesitation. The Kremlin, however, chose silence, which should be remembered if the regime one day seeks to present a more amenable face to the world in any negotiations.
We stand in solidarity with all who are committed to sharing the truth and condemn such remarks without hesitation. Any legitimate foreign government would do the same.
A free press is the cornerstone of a free country, and the treatment of journalists exposes the true character of any society. In that context it is both appalling and predictable that Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president from 2008 to 2012 and current deputy head of its security council, has branded the editors of The Times as “legitimate military targets.”
His threat followed the newspaper’s reporting this week on the assassination by Kyiv of Russia’s nuclear and chemical weapons chief, Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, in Moscow. Medvedev warned that editors should “be careful”, declaring that “anything goes in London”.
The British Government has rightly condemned Moscow’s “desperate rhetoric” – an apposite phrase. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has become one of the Kremlin’s most inflammatory propagandists. He has threatened hypersonic missile strikes on The Hague after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for President Vladimir Putin, and regularly brandishes nuclear threats whenever events turn against Moscow. That he remains a central Kremlin figure underscores the regime’s moral bankruptcy.
No journalist should ever face threats for simply doing their job, and any regime serious about peace – as frequently Moscow likes to claim – would have condemned such remarks without hesitation. The Kremlin, however, chose silence, which should be remembered if the regime one day seeks to present a more amenable face to the world in any negotiations.
We stand in solidarity with all who are committed to sharing the truth and condemn such remarks without hesitation. Any legitimate foreign government would do the same.