As of: March 9, 2024, 6:49 p.m
By: Mark Stoffers
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Apparently, Putin's ally Dmitry Medvedev always goes on particularly violent tirades against NATO, Ukraine and the West after receiving a delivery of wine from Italy.
(Archive image) © Kremlin Pool /imago
Russia's former president Medvedev regularly fires tirades against NATO and the West.
Now a report makes a bizarre connection.
Moscow – One of Vladimir Putin's closest allies is once again thrusting himself into the spotlight.
After the Bundeswehr wiretapping scandal, the major NATO maneuver or his statements about French President Emmanuel Macron, who no longer wants to rule out NATO ground troops in Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev has this time targeted US President Joe Biden.
Putin confidant Medvedev fires against Biden: “A shame for the United States”
The reason is a comparison made by Biden in his State of the Union speech to Congress last Thursday, which, in Medvedev's opinion, is seriously flawed.
The US President had compared himself to his predecessor Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
According to Medvedev, Biden should not have mentioned this because, unlike Roosevelt, he would only bring “shame” to the United States, said the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council in a comment on the State of the Union address.
“In the State of the Union address, Biden compared himself to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
That's a lousy comparison.
Obviously not in his favor,” Medvedev wrote on his account on X (formerly Twitter).
“He is a disgrace to the United States!”
Former Russian President Medvedev rages against Biden: “Trying to trigger World War III”
Medvedev, who repeatedly threatens attacks on Germany, pointed out that the 32nd US president was a frail man in a wheelchair, but “he brought America out of the depression.” Biden, on the other hand, was a “crazy, mentally disabled individual who has set his mind on dragging humanity to hell”.
Furthermore, the official continued, Roosevelt fought for peace alongside allies, including the USSR, while "Biden is actively and persistently trying to start World War III."
After all, Roosevelt “fought against the fascists while Biden fights for them,” Medvedev concluded his post.
Controversial posts from Medvedev: Putin confidant writes about alcohol deliveries from Italy
It is not the first controversial post that Medvedev published on social media.
Now a report from the Russian news site
The Insider
may have put the tirades of Putin's close confidant into a bizarre context.
Accordingly, many of the anti-NATO posts on his Telegram channel are said to be connected to alcohol deliveries from Italy.
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“As it turns out, despite the sanctions, wine from Medvedev's Italian wineries continues to be delivered to Russia, and the delivery dates surprisingly always precede his scandalous publications,” the report said.
Putin's friend Medvedev rages against the West: tirades in connection with wine deliveries from Italy?
According to the paper, Medvedev continues to receive alcohol shipments from the Tuscan winery Fattoria della Aiola, which was registered with an offshore company in Cyprus in 2017.
This winery belongs to Ilya Eliseev, a former classmate and close friend of Medvedev.
The insider
noted that the ownership of the winery has changed since then, but part of the shares still belong to Eliseev.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Ukraine war with a full-scale invasion in February 2022, Medvedev continued to receive wine from this Italian winery,
The Insider reported.
Accordingly, the wine from Italy arrived in Russia on June 17, 2022.
Two days later, Medvedev wrote a post on Telegram alluding to the demise of the European Union before Ukraine can become a member.
Wine deliveries from Italy: Medvedev tirades on social media about nuclear war
And in October 2022 and January 2023, Medvedev posted more tirades on social media, days after receiving shipments of wine from Italy,
The Insider
found.
The former Russian president has repeatedly warned that a nuclear war could break out as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
In January, he warned in a post on his Telegram channel that Moscow could respond with a nuclear strike if Ukraine attacked missile launch bases on Russian soil with long-range missiles provided by the West.
If Ukraine attacks, there is a risk of violating paragraph 19 of Russia's 2020 nuclear doctrine, Medvedev said, adding that everyone who supports Kiev "should keep this in mind."
New wine deliveries for Medvedev from Italy?
Putin confidant rails against NATO and Chancellor Scholz
The paragraph says Russia could use nuclear weapons to respond to an attack with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia "if the existence of the state itself is threatened,"
Reuters
reported .
“This is not a right to self-defense, but a direct and obvious basis for our use of nuclear weapons against such a state,” Medvedev wrote.
In recent weeks, Russia's ex-president has been much more active on social media again, with Medvedev complaining after Macron's NATO attack in Ukraine that "everything is allowed against the enemy."
However, The Insider
's report did
not reveal whether Vladimir Putin's confidant had received another delivery of wine from Italy.