Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev revealed that the war in Ukraine could last for decades, and witness long periods of fighting interspersed with armistices. The Russian Information Agency quoted the deputy head of the Russian Security Council as saying today (Friday): This conflict will continue for a very long time, most likely for decades. He added, “As long as there is such an authority… there will be, for example, three years of armistice and two years of conflict and then everything will repeat.”
Medvedev said last January that a nuclear war might break out in the event of Moscow’s defeat. He warned that if the West provided Ukraine with nuclear weapons, Russia would have to launch a preemptive strike. Medvedev emphasized that there are irreversible rules of war, if it comes to nuclear weapons, a preemptive strike must be launched.
For his part, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said today that his country will impose additional sanctions on Russia after the G7 countries agreed at their summit, which Japan hosted last week, to intensify measures to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.
Matsuno, who is also the Japanese government’s chief spokesperson, condemned Russia’s move on Thursday when it deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying it would sharpen attitudes over the Ukraine war.
At a press conference, Matsuno said: As the only country that suffered nuclear bombing during wartime, Japan would never accept Russia’s threat of nuclear weapons, let alone their use.
The leaders of the Group of Seven countries, which includes countries including the United States, Britain, Germany and France, last week showed their determination to support Ukraine with additional military aid and impose sanctions on Russia at the annual summit in Hiroshima, the first city to be bombed by a nuclear bomb.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Japan, after coordinating work with the Group of Seven, will freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including Russian army officers, and will ban exports to 80 Russian entities, such as army research laboratories. Japan will also ban the provision of construction and engineering services to Russia, and the details of the measure will be announced at a later date, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
