"World War III": Ex-Russian President Warns Trump Over Criticism of Putin

In response to Trump's harsh criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's ongoing war in Ukraine, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has threatened to start a third world war.

After Trump's comments over the weekend, Medvedev, who was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012 and prime minister until 2020, responded on social media platform X.

"I can think of only one VERY horrible thing that Trump mentioned in reference to Putin 'playing with fire' and'really horrible things' happening to Russia: World War I. "I'm hoping Trump gets this," he wrote.

The conversation takes place as further violence in Ukraine heightens relations between Washington and Moscow. At least 13 people were murdered in a recent round of Russian drone and missile attacks, which spurred Trump to warn more sanctions on the Kremlin.

Trump Becomes More Angry

The ongoing violence seemed to irritate Trump, who has long maintained that he could end the crisis in Ukraine within 24 hours of assuming office.

Vladimir Putin is unaware that Russia would have already experienced many terrible things if it weren't for me. In an interview with the media, Trump said, "He's playing with fire."

Trump did not specify any specific retaliatory actions, but according to CNN and The Wall Street Journal, he is aggressively exploring imposing new penalties on Russia, maybe as soon as this week.

In Response to Increasing Conflict, the Kremlin

Moscow has not formally addressed Trump's most recent remarks. However, the Kremlin has continuously claimed that its military activities are a reaction to Ukraine's increasing assertiveness. Nearly 150 Ukrainian drones were captured in the last several days, according to Russian defence sources, with 33 of those drones allegedly in route to the capital.

Despite growing international pressure, the Kremlin continues to blame Ukraine for the stalling of peace talks, accusing Kyiv of purposefully obstructing war-ending efforts.

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict has entered a new and unstable phase in which both sides are blaming one another and hostilities are not showing any signs of stopping.