Russia's former president, a Putin ally, says he'll 'do anything' to make Moscow's enemies 'disappear'

• Dmitry Medvedev, ex-president of Russia, in a Telegram post on Tuesday said he would do anything to make Russia's enemies "disappear."
• "They are bastards and scum. They want death for us, for Russia," Medvedev said.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia, on Tuesday expressed a desire to "disappear" Moscow's enemies in a threatening post on Telegram.

"People often ask me why my Telegram posts are so harsh. The answer is that I hate them. They are bastards and scum. They want death for us, for Russia. And as long as I'm alive, I'll do anything I can to make them disappear," Medvedev said, per a translation from The Moscow Times.

It's not clear precisely who or what the post was referencing or targeting, but it came as Medvedev — a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — has taken an increasingly bellicose tone toward Kyiv and the West amid Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine.

Some Russia watchers interpreted Medvedev's post as being directed at both Ukraine and the West, while others saw it as a genocidal message aimed at Ukrainians. President Joe Biden has accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine, which Putin has falsely suggested is not a real country — questioning its right to exist.

Medvedev, currently deputy chair of the Security Council of Russia, was president of Russia from 2008 to 2012 after being handpicked by Putin — who was constitutionally barred from serving a third consecutive term at the time (but has since signed a law to change that following a referendum on constitutional amendments in 2020).

There was a time when Medvedev was considered to be a liberal who would improve ties with the West and strengthen democracy in Russia, not unlike early expectations of Putin. But Medvedev, who was also Russia's prime minister from 2012 to 2020, ultimately served to help place Putin on the path to becoming president for life. And since the war in Ukraine began in late February, Medvedev has consistently parroted the Kremlin's bombastic and conspiratorial talking points on the conflict.

Medvedev, for example, baselessly said that evidence of apparent atrocities committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Ukraine, was fabricated and "Ukrainian propaganda." Echoing Putin, he's also suggested that Ukraine is not a real or legitimate country.

"Deep Ukrainianism, fueled by anti-Russian poison and an all-consuming lie about its identity, is one big fake," Medvedev said in a Telegram post in April. "This phenomenon has never happened in history. And now it doesn't exist," he added.

Ruth Deyermond, a Russia expert in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told the Washington Post that such rhetoric is "hard to read in any other way than a justification for mass killing," adding, "It's extremely disturbing language and clearly has genocidal overtones."