Putin Ally Vows to Bring Russian Tanks to NATO Country’s Capital

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a stark warning on Friday, vowing to send Russian tanks to Germany’s capital in response to a “revanchist” article published by a German newspaper, intensifying the already fraught relations between Moscow and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Medvedev’s comments on Friday come amid an extremely tense global context more than two-and-a half-years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has threatened a wider war. Medvedev has often made headlines with threats ranging from a total occupation of Ukraine to a nuclear confrontation with Kyiv’s Western backers.

In February 2022, Putin launched a military invasion of Ukraine, sparking the largest military conflict and refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The invasion has been widely condemned by NATO allies, international organizations, and numerous countries around the world. Meanwhile, Belarus and a handful of other countries support Putin’s decision to invade, viewing it as a justified effort to “liberate” the region.

In a Friday afternoon post on X, formerly Twitter, Medvedev said that Bild, a German tabloid newspaper with over 2 million followers on the social media platform, “published a revanchist article where it proudly announces German tanks’ comeback to the Russian land.”

Nazi Germany tanks invaded the Soviet Union during World War II in 1941.

Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, Germany has provided Ukraine with several Leopard tanks for defense. Other NATO allies have agreed to send American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine for military support.

“In response, we’re going to do everything to bring the newest Russian tanks to Platz d. Republik,” Medvedev vowed. Platz der Republik is a landmark public square in Berlin where the German parliament, the Reichstag, is located.

When contacted by Newsweek on Sunday morning, a German government spokesperson declined to comment. Newsweek also filed out a contact request form with the Russian government.

Germany is a NATO member state, which means that if it is attacked or faces aggression, its allies are obligated to provide military support under the collective defense principle outlined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

Earlier this summer, Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, signed a new bilateral agreement on military assistance in the event of an attack on either country, a move that drew condemnation from Seoul and Washington.

Medvedev comments come as Ukrainian forces are reportedly pressing deeper into Russia after their surprise offensive in the Kursk region has left Putin scrambling to respond.

Russia has imposed a counterterrorism operation in three of its border regions—the others being in Bryansk and Belgorod—to thwart Ukraine’s momentum. It has seen the Ukrainian forces reportedly threatening to seize one regional town over six miles inside Russian territory.

Regarding the offensive in Russia, Germany’s foreign ministry told Politico in a statement, “Ukraine has the right to self-defense enshrined in international law.”