Dmitry Medvedev Threatens The Times for Calling Russian General’s Assassination Legitimate

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev threatened editors of Britain’s The Times newspaper after it referred to the assassination of a Russian general as “legitimate” in a statement on his Telegram channel on December 18.

In a recent editorial, The Times called the targeted killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s chemical weapons division, a “legitimate act of defense by a threatened nation.” The general died in an explosion in Moscow.

Medvedev described The Times journalists as “lousy jackals from The Times who cowardly hid behind an editorial.” He accused the newspaper of being accomplice in crimes against Russia.

“Makes sense! In that regard, be careful! Because a lot of things happen in London,” Medvedev wrote, referencing incidents such as the 2006 assassination of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in London.

Medvedev also expanded his rhetoric, declaring that officials from NATO countries involved in providing military aid to Ukraine are “legitimate military targets.” He implied that this designation extended not only to military officials but also to individuals he deemed accomplices, including members of The Times’ editorial leadership.

According to Medvedev, “All officials from NATO countries who have made decisions on military aid to Ukraine are part of the hybrid or conventional war against Russia… They are legitimate military targets for the Russian state and for all patriots of Russia.”

Earlier, a declassified report by US intelligence revealed a pattern of assassinations abroad allegedly sanctioned by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, targeting political opponents, defectors, and dissidents.