Putin Ally Pledges 'Maximum Reward' for NATO Fighters Killed in Ukraine

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday railed against the prospect of NATO personnel being deployed in Ukraine, saying his country's soldiers should be given a "maximum reward" for killing troops from the alliance.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the comment on X, formerly Twitter, while discussing the possibility of NATO sending military members for "housekeeping and organizing" in Ukraine.

NATO has not yet put boots on the ground in Ukraine, and bloc chief Jens Stoltenberg has pushed back on the suggestion that such an action will be taken in the near future. However, Stoltenberg urged NATO foreign ministers during a Wednesday meeting to plan for long-term military support for Kyiv. This would include security assistance and training, as well as becoming more involved with the coordination of the supply of weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron garnered international headlines in February after he said that he could not rule out Western soldiers eventually being sent into Ukraine. Macron backtracked somewhat on the position a few days later, but he has since said that the topic of deploying Western troops to aid Ukraine in its defense against the ongoing Russian invasion shouldn't be off-limits.

Medvedev made it clear that any NATO soldiers on Ukrainian territory would be viewed as enemies by the Russian military.

"Our NATO friends have got a new mantra. Now they are collectively saying that intervention in 'Ukraine' is not in plans. Just some troops will enter an area near Lviv and maybe Kyiv to relieve the Ukrainian army," Medvedev wrote. "Kind of, doing housekeeping and organizing; training; bringing elite special forces to some places. Nothing more. Implication: people of our countries, relax. There will be but a few coffins. And you, Russians, don't get too anxious, we are not going to make war."

The Kremlin official's message then grew more severe, calling NATO leaders "totally brazen brutes who hold all the world for fools."

Newsweek reached out to NATO via email on Thursday night for comment.

After some profane insults, Medvedev asserted that NATO soldiers "will become part of the regular forces who are now fighting against us."

As a result, he said that "they can only be treated as enemies; and not just enemies, but as elite detachments, Hitler's SS punishers.

"And there can only be one rule for these overseas lice, who, unlike the unfortunate Ukrainians, were not forced to go to war: no prisoners taken! And for each NATO fighter killed, blown-up, or burned there must be a maximum reward. And no giving the bodies back. Let the relatives abroad suffer."

Medvedev is known for making inflammatory statements, often involving threats of nuclear war. When remarking on Macron's comments about deploying Western troops to Ukraine, Medvedev warned that "Russia has no more red lines left for France."