FILE PHOTO: Russia's Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev takes part in a wreath laying ceremony marking Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Russia, February 23, 2024. Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused European leaders on Tuesday of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict following the re-election of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Medvedev, a senior security official, wrote on Telegram that European politicians were aiming to "push the conflict with Russia into an irreversible phase" while they could and warned against allowing Kyiv to use Western long-range missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.
Medvedev dismissed what he called "ultimatums" issued by German opposition leader and possible next chancellor Friedrich Merz about Ukraine's use of such weapons as "electioneering in nature".
"It is clear that these missiles are not capable of changing anything significantly in the course of military operations", he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed their support for Kyiv during talks in Paris on Monday, while France's foreign minister urged Ukraine's allies not to prejudge how Trump will handle the conflict.
"Generally speaking, it is surprising to what extent the current generation of European politicians wants to drag the war into their territory", Medvedev said.
Medvedev previously said that Trump's win would likely be bad news for Ukraine. Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how.
The Kremlin dismissed on Monday reports that Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days as "pure fiction."
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge)
