Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Ukraine will face “inevitable retaliation” for the killing of Russian commander Igor Kirillov.
“Efforts to intimidate the population, prevent the advance of Russian troops and instill fear will fail,” a Kremlin official said, according to Russian news agency RIA.
Medvedev, one of the Kremlin’s most hawkish figures, said Ukraine was “justifying its worthless existence in the eyes of Western rulers, prolonging war and death, and justifying the catastrophic situation on the front.” It was also reported that he was accused of
“Recognizing the inevitability of military defeat, they are dealing a despicable and despicable blow to a peaceful city,” he said.
He also referred to Ukraine’s leadership as the “Bandera regime.”
Stepan Bandera, one of the founders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), was a leader of Ukrainian fighters who fought against both Nazi and Soviet forces during World War II.
He was assassinated by KGB agents in 1959 and is considered a hero by many in western Ukraine.
In the Russian-speaking east, many take the Soviet view that he is a terrorist.
