Putin Ally Says Only Ukraine 'Capitulation' Would Pave Way for Peace

Dmitry Medvedev—Russia's former prime minister and president who has become one of Moscow's most prominent hawks—has asserted that Ukrainian "capitulation" is the only path to peace, as Kyiv's forces continue a slow counteroffensive.

"The people suffering in the trenches of a divided country really need only capitulation, which could potentially pave the way to peace," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday. "But neither Washington nor Kyiv want peace."

Once touted as a potential successor to President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev was sidelined in the years leading up to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But since the conflict erupted, the man who once served as Putin's presidential seat-warmer—and who Western leaders hoped might prove a more amenable partner than the "new czar"—has reemerged as a rabidly pro-war figure.

Medvedev on Friday suggested that Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive was failing and that continued NATO-European Union backing for Ukraine was futile.

"The enlightened world once again shuddered when they learned about the allocation of tens of meaningless billions of dollars for zombies from Country 404," Medvedev said, using a euphemism expressing his belief that Ukraine is not a legitimate state—a view shared by Putin and his top officials.

"Kamikaze in burning Western tanks will not see this money," he added, referring to the Ukrainian troops pressing their offensive.

"They will see nothing but death. But this is very important money for the gerontocratic elite from the U.S. Democratic Party and its servants in the EU. After all, the myth of the 'great counteroffensive' supports the myth of the 'great dollar economy.'"

"The meat processing plant of the counteroffensive is working non-stop today, sending thousands of unfortunate people to slaughter," Medvedev wrote. "But its work will no longer help the Kyiv regime, which has entered the stage of posthumous decay. Its corpse cannot be galvanized."

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry by email to request comment.

Such aggressive rhetoric from Medvedev is not uncommon. In 2022 he framed Russia's invasion as a holy war against "crazy Nazi drug addicts" in Ukraine, supported by Westerners with "drool running down their chins from degeneracy." Russia's war, he said, is intended to "foil the supreme ruler of hell, whatever name he uses—Satan, Lucifer or Iblis."

Medvedev has repeatedly threatened nuclear war. In July, he said Ukraine's counteroffensive might push Moscow to use weapons of mass destruction.

"Just imagine that the offensive… in tandem with NATO, succeeded and ended up with part of our land being taken away. Then we would have to use nuclear weapons by virtue of the stipulations of the Russian Presidential Decree," Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

"There simply wouldn't be any other solution," the former president added. "Our enemies should pray to our fighters that they do not allow the world to go up in nuclear flames."

Medvedev's fervent ultra-nationalist output is extreme even by Russian standards, but his assertion that peace is only possible through Russian victory appears to be shared by the Kremlin's real power players.

Almost 18 months into the full-scale invasion, Putin shows no sign of downgrading his vague but maximalist war goal of Ukrainian subjugation—framed in Moscow as "de-Nazification" and demilitarization. The Kremlin has repeatedly said the president is open to revived peace talks, but only if they reflect the "new territorial reality" of Russian occupation.

Ukrainian leaders have made clear they will brook no negotiations without full Russian military withdrawal per 1991 borders. Occupied Donbas and Crimea must be freed, Kyiv has said, while Russia must pay reparations for war damage and accept war crimes trials for leaders responsible for the invasion.