Russian ex-president Medvedev confirms Russia seeks to destroy Ukrainian state, remains intransigent

In his Telegram post titled “Why Ukraine is dangerous for its inhabitants,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev once again confirmed Russia’s objective is the obliteration of Ukraine as a sovereign nation, claiming that the very existence of Ukraine as a state endangers Ukrainians.

Medvedev’s speculations are in line with Russian genocidal propaganda and show that Russia remains intransigent regarding any negotiations but Ukraine’s capitulation.

Medvedev, who currently holds the post of the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, claims that Ukraine’s existence as an independent state perpetually endangers the lives of Ukrainians themselves since maintaining sovereignty will ostensibly prompt the renewal of military conflict with Russia continually, regardless of any security assurances by the West and even if Ukraine joined the EU or NATO.

“The existence of an independent state on historical Russian territories will now be a constant reason to resume hostilities. It’s too late. Whoever is at the helm of the cancerous new formation called Ukraine, it will not add legitimacy to his rule or legal standing to the ‘country’ itself,” Medvedev wrote.

9 reasons negotiations with Russia are utterly pointless

Medvedev claims that though most Ukrainians currently wish death upon Russians and fervently aspire to ‘mythical” EU and NATO membership, the absolute majority will allegedly ultimately choose life by resigning themselves to existence in a Russian-controlled “greater state” rather than face indefinite slaughter.

Per his post, Medvedev appears utterly convinced enduring conflict and mounting casualties will pressure Ukrainians into relinquishing independence of their “artificial state” in favor of subjugation by Russia.

Medvedev’s stance confirms that negotiations with Russia are pointless

Back in late 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Russia’s plans to continue its war in Ukraine until the Ukrainian government capitulates to Russia’s demands.

Recently, the New York Times claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was signaling to the West that he would be willing to freeze the war in Ukraine along the current frontline and is waiting for a more concrete proposal and ostensibly ‘tested the waters’ for a ceasefire agreement back in fall 2022 – after Ukraine routed the Russian army in the northeastern part of the country.

If the NYT claims were true, they would only show that Russia needs negotiations to secure its territorial gains and prepare for the next phase of the invasion. Meanwhile, Russia does not need any talks to end the war, which for Russians would simply mean to stop fighting and withdraw troops from the Ukrainian territory. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s state propaganda repeatedly dehumanizes Ukrainians and supports genocide against them. In a March 2022 column, historian Heinrich August Winkler listed the striking parallels between Hitler’s policies in 1938 and 1939 and Putin’s policies since 2014.

In March 2023 “Sustainable Peace Manifesto. Never Again 2.0.,” Ukrainian intellectuals maintained that Russia alone cannot break free from the vicious circle of its aggressive past and can change only under international pressure. That is why, in order to prevent Russia’s future wars, steps must be taken to ensure that Russia carries responsibility for the current war and the core reasons for Russian aggression are addressed so that a sustainable peace follows.