Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday appeared to warn President Trump about the possibility of World War III amid escalating tensions between the nuclear powers.
“Regarding Trump’s words about Putin “playing with fire” and “really bad things” happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,” Medvedev wrote in a Tuesday post on X.
“I hope Trump understands this,” he added.
Medvedev was referencing remarks Trump made a day earlier on Truth Social. He said Putin was “playing with fire” after Sunday’s deadly Russian air strikes on Ukraine.
U.S. officials have been working to reach a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but have had little success with Putin so far.
Hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides have either been killed or injured since the war started in 2022.
Republican lawmakers have encouraged Trump to place additional sanctions on Russia, arguing that economic pressure could cause the Kremlin to ease up on the battlefield.
The president who vowed to end the war in last year’s presidential campaign, told reporters on Sunday that he’s considering putting new sanctions in place.
When asked if he was considering sanctions on Russia and Putin, Trump said, “Absolutely. He’s killing a lot of people. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him, right?”
“He’s killing a lot of people and I’m not happy with that.”