Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday accused the United States of declaring “an act of war” against Russia.
“The United States is our adversary, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia,” he said. “The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with loony Europe.”
Medvedev’s response came after the planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was cancelled and Washington imposed sanctions on two of Moscow’s largest oil companies.
Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, referred to Trump’s decision to cancel the Budapest summit and wrote on Telegram: “Cancellation of the Budapest summit by Trump. New sanctions against our country from the US. What else? Will there be new weapons besides the notorious Tomahawks?”
Medvedev added that those who still harboured “illusions” about Washington’s intentions should now be disabused of them, calling Trump’s latest actions proof that he had taken up “the path of war” with Russia.
Medvedev also said that while Trump was not yet fighting “actively on the side of Banderite Kyiv,” the conflict had now become his own.
“Of course, they will say that he had no choice, that Congress pressured him, etc. That does not change the main point,” he wrote.
He called the recent US measures a green light for Russia to intensify its military campaign in Ukraine “without worrying about unnecessary negotiations” and to “seek victory exactly where it is possible — on the ground, not behind a desk.”
Trump in August said that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia in response to what he called "highly provocative" comments from Medvedev about the risk of war.
Medvedev said that the move of the "Trumpian pendulum" simply meant that Russia could now hammer Ukraine with a wide variety of weapons "without regard to unnecessary negotiations."
In Moscow, the Kremlin reaffirmed that its objectives in Ukraine remain unchanged since 2022 — ensuring the country’s neutrality, demilitarisation, and protection of Russian speakers and Orthodox believers.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia seeks “a configuration of negotiated solutions that will eliminate the root causes of the conflict and ensure reliable peace in the context of building a Eurasian and broader global system of indivisible security.”
She denounced the new US sanctions as “extremely counterproductive” and warned that if Trump followed the path of previous administrations, “it would fail.”
Trump, who during his campaign vowed to end the Ukraine war and has referred to Russia as a “paper tiger,” has in recent weeks expressed growing frustration with President Putin.
On Wednesday, he cancelled the planned meeting with the Russian leader and authorised the US treasury to sanction oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said while announcing the measures.
Companies have been given until November 21 to wind down transactions with the two sanctioned producers.
The sanctions mark the first Ukraine-related action against Moscow in Trump’s second term and are aimed at squeezing Russia’s oil revenues that fund its war effort.
As a result, Indian refiners are preparing to curtail imports of Russian crude, according to industry sources quoted by Reuters.
Reliance Industries, India’s largest private buyer of Russian oil, plans to reduce or halt imports altogether. India has been purchasing roughly 1.7 million barrels of discounted Russian crude per day this year, making it Moscow’s top seaborne buyer since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian oil has become a major irritant in US-India trade discussions, with half of Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods reportedly imposed in retaliation for those purchases.
In the diplomatic scramble to sway the unpredictable, Trump, European leaders and Ukraine are working on a 12-point peace proposal reported by Bloomberg, including a ceasefire, security guarantees, and Ukraine’s potential EU membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and ten European leaders issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing his call for an “immediate halt to fighting” and the use of the current frontlines as the basis for negotiations.
“Russia’s stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace. We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction,” said the statement, signed by leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, the European Commission and European Council.
Putin, who ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in the country's east between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces, has repeatedly said he is ready to talk about peace.
European leaders and Ukraine say they do not think Putin wants peace and have cautioned that Russia might one day attack a NATO member, a claim the Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed as nonsense.