Former Russian president accuses Germany of hybrid warfare

Moscow. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday accused Germany of waging a “hybrid war” against Russia, justifying the cessation of gas supplies to Berlin for its “unfriendly” behavior amid the Ukraine conflict.

The remarks come at a time when relations between Germany and Russia, already strained by the conflict in Ukraine, were further complicated after Moscow cut off gas supplies to Berlin via the Nord Stream pipeline.

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that “Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier”. Firstly, Germany is an unfriendly country, secondly, it has imposed sanctions against the entire Russian economy (…) and is delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine,” Medvedev said in a message on Telegram.

“In other words, it has declared a hybrid war against Russia. Germany is behaving like an ENEMY of RUSSIA,” he added.

On Friday, the Russian gas giant Gazprom announced the total suspension of deliveries through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, officially after detecting a leak in a turbine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal arrived in Germany on Sunday, where he hopes to garner stronger support against Russia and turn the page on recent bilateral tensions.

Salvini questions sanctions

The leader of the Italian far-right party La Liga, Matteo Salvini, questioned this Sunday the effectiveness of the economic sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which surpassed those sanctioned and “brought to their knees” the sanctioning countries.

“Several months have passed and people pay double, or quadruple the bills” and while “the war continues and the coffers of the Russian Federation are filled with money,” Salvini told RTL radio, before speaking at the forum affordable The European House-Ambrosetti, in Cernobbio, northern Italy.

“Do the sanctions work? No. To this day, those who were sanctioned win, while those who imposed the sanctions are on their knees,” Salvini said in a tweet.

“Someone in Europe made a wrong calculation: it is essential to rethink the strategy to save jobs and businesses in Italy,” Salvini asked.