Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that the United States will burn in an “earthly fire” following a missile attack on Sevastopol by Ukrainian troops.
On Sunday, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Kremlin had placed blame on the U.S. for a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, claiming U.S.-supplied missiles were used. The strike left at least five people dead and over 100 injured, according to Reuters.
The Russian Defense Ministry said four of the U.S.-delivered Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles were shot down by air defense systems, but fragments from the fifth rocket led to casualties on the ground.
“Responsibility for the deliberate missile attack on the civilians of Sevastopol is borne above all by Washington, which supplied these weapons to Ukraine, and by the Kyiv regime, from whose territory this strike was carried out,” the ministry said.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, took to Telegram to respond to the attack.
“The bas**rds from the USA supply missiles with cluster charges to Bandera’s supporters and help guide them to the target. The bastards in Kyiv select a beach with peaceful people as a target and press the button.
Both will burn in hell. I hope, not only in sacred fire, but even earlier – in earthly fire,” Medvedev wrote, according to the translated post. Medvedev continued to condemn the attack as he claimed it was carried out by “extremists.”
“Everything that happened was not military action, but a vile and vile terrorist attack against our people, committed on an Orthodox holiday. Just like the massacre in Dagestan, which was carried out by extremists.
Therefore, now all of them – the American authorities, the Bandera regime and crazy fanatics – are no different for us. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Speedy recovery to the wounded,” he added.
Stepan Bandera was the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists during World War II. He is a divisive figure, with many in western Ukraine seeing him as a freedom fighter against Soviet Union domination.
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine think of him as a fascist ally to Nazi Germany head Adolf Hitler. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.
