DMITRY MEDVEDEV

Four occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine are set to start voting Friday in Kremlin-engineered referendums on whether to become part of Russia, setting the stage for Moscow to annex the areas in a sharp escalation of the nearly seven-month war.

Amid tearful farewells for thousands of Russian men called up for potential deployment to Ukraine, pro-war hawks raged over the release of Azov Regiment fighters.

Russia is escalating its military and political campaign to take over Ukrainian territory.

The votes, in territory Russia already controls, are expected to go Moscow's way but are unlikely to be recognized by governments backing Ukraine.

As Ukraine's counter-offensive gathers pace, Russian-backed officials declare plans for an urgent vote.

The separatist leaders of four Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine say they are planning to hold referendums this week for the territories to become part of Russia as Moscow loses ground in the war it launched.

STANISLAV POHORILOV - TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2022, 19:09 Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has called the recommendations of the Kyiv Security Compact for the strategic partnership of Ukraine and the guarantor states "a prologue to WWIII".

ALONA MAZURENKO - MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2022, 17:05 Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, has reacted to provocative statements made by Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, who has been talking about Ukraine "surrendering", despite the Russian army's setbacks on the battlefield.

UKRAINSKA PRAVDA - MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2022, 11:40 Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said that Russia still demands "total surrender of Ukraine on its own terms", commenting on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement about the impossibility of negotiations with the Russian Federation until the war is over.

A top Russian official has accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to provoke the country’s breakup and warned that it could lead to doomsday

Europe isn’t paying enough attention to the Kremlin’s wartime messaging. There’s a real effort to stoke social unrest.

YEVHEN KIZILOV - THURSDAY, 11 AUGUST 2022, 21:37 Dmitry Medvedev, the former President of Russia and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation visited the occupied part of Luhansk Oblast where he held a security meeting on behalf of Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine's president devotes nightly address to Crimea after explosions rock a Russian airbase there.

Black smoke is seen rising from the territory, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Once known as a moderating influence within the Kremlin, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and current top Kremlin security adviser has recently emerged as a strikingly bellicose presence, using lengthy, hard-edged posts on the social media network Telegram to justify the invasion of Ukraine, revise 20th century history and threaten the West with nuclear war.

President Joe Biden is back in Washington after his first trip since taking office to the Middle East, where he says he challenged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports for TODAY on the big takeaways from the trip and previews this week’s Jan. 6 hearing.

Italy is entering five days of political and financial uncertainty after the 5-Star Movement sparked a government crisis by withholding support on a government-sponsored bill.

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesRussian officials have begun to issue a series of threats to the United States in an attempt to fend off a war crimes tribunal, with top officials suggesting that Russia could be interested in going after Alaska next, which the United States purchased from Russian in 1867.Russia’s lower house speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, warned the United States ought to hesitate when seizing or freezing Russian assets abroad, and instead ought to remember that Alaska previously belon

A top Russian official has warned the U.S. that it could face the “wrath of God” if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia’s action in Ukraine

A top Russian official has warned the U.S. that it could face the “wrath of God” if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia’s action in Ukraine.

A top Kremlin official warned the U.S. Wednesday that it could face the “wrath of God” if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia's action in Ukraine, while the Russian lower house speaker urged Washington to remember that Alaska used to belong to Russia. “The entire U.S. history since the times of subjugation of the native Indian population represents a series of bloody wars,” Medvedev charged in a long diatribe on his Telegram channel, pointing out the U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan during World War II and the war in Vietnam. Responding to the U.S.-backed calls for an international tribunal to prosecute the perceived war crimes by Russia in Ukraine, Medvedev rejected it as an attempt by the U.S. “to judge others while staying immune from any trial.”

In Madrid this week, NATO laid out a bold plan for military expansion in response to Putin’s war. But can its member states overcome political divisions at home?

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - TUESDAY, 28 JUNE 2022, 13:18 Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, reminded Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, that Crimea is Ukrainian territory and will most certainly be liberated from Russian occupation.

The governor of a key eastern Ukrainian city is acknowledging that Russian forces are advancing in heavy fighting.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says Russia has so far turned over the bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Mariupol.

Kateryna Tyshchenko - Tuesday, 17 May 2022, 21:05 Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, has said that the Russian Federation would not allow World War III to break out. Source: Medvedev on Telegram after visiting the Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov Direct quote: "The history of the Nuclear Center in Sarov is forever linked to the names of those who created our country's nuclear shield.

Russia will take control of French car manufacturer Renault’s operations in the country and resurrect a Soviet-era auto brand.

Ukrainian and British officials say Russia suffered heavy losses when Ukrainian forces destroyed the pontoon bridge enemy troops were using to try to cross a river.

Final congressional approval of a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill seems certain within days.

Key decision-makers in non-aligned Finland and Sweden are set to announce their positions on NATO membership this week.

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, said Russia's warning was an "empty threat" given the apparent presence of Russian nukes in Kaliningrad.

Moscow would put nuclear arms near the Baltics and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden join the alliance, ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said. The Kremlin didn't comment.

Moscow would put nuclear arms near the Baltics and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden join the alliance, ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said. The Kremlin didn't comment.

Russia says that a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer possible if Finland and Sweden joined NATO.

The detention of fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, the former leader of a pro-Russian opposition party and a close associate of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been met with enthusiasm in Kyiv and irritation in Moscow.

Flamboyant, cynical and corrupt, the ultranationalist legislator Vladimir Zhironovsky made possible the country’s sham democracy and indelibly shaped its public voice.

Officials and Russian media have started pinning the murders of civilians on Kyiv in ominous rhetoric.

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and allies are again escalating sanctions against Russia after evidence that Russian troops murdered Ukrainian civilians in a town near Kyiv.

The U.S. and other nations impose new sanctions on Russia that will increase economic penalties on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises.

"We will have to be more careful about food supplies abroad, especially carefully monitor the exports to countries which are hostile to us," Putin said.

Hit musical "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" opened in London's West End. (March 24)

Thursday Morning 7 Day Forecast

Richard Manley is on unpaid leave from the Buffalo Fire Department after an incident at a South Buffalo bar. Another firefighter, Derek Rose, is in critical condition.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is looking to 'reset' eastern defences amid the war in Ukraine, as he arrives at an extraordinary summit in Brussels. DURATION: 00:15

Dmitry Medvedev said the United States had conspired to destroy Russia as part of a 'primitive game' since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says that US President Joe Biden laid out to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping the "implications and consequences" of any support for Russia in its war against neighboring Ukraine, during a nearly two-hour phone call. "Actions are a key part of what we'll be watching," Psaki adds during her daily briefing.

Silicon Valley links between VCs, Russian founders and investors have created a range of issues as a result of the invasion of Ukraine and business retreat.

Scott Kelly earned a Russian medal "For Merit in Space Exploration," but he doesn't want it anymore.

President Joe Biden and U.S. allies in a matter of days have weaponized the global economy against Russia for invading Ukraine.

Russian nuclear submarines have sailed off for drills in the Barents Sea and mobile missile launchers are roaming snow forests in Siberia after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation’s nuclear forces put on high alert.

France's finance minister said Tuesday that the West would "cause the collapse of the Russian economy" through "economic and financial war on Russia."

Vladimir Putin is raising fears that he has become more reckless, more committed to restoring the USSR, perhaps more likely to set off a world-altering war.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian nuclear forces on high alert amid tensions with the West over his invasion of Ukraine.

"We are being driven out of everywhere, punished and threatened, but we don't feel scared," Medvedev said, criticizing Western sanctions imposed because of Russa's invasion of Ukraine.

A senior Russian official says that Moscow may respond to Western sanctions by opting out of the last nuclear arms deal with the U.S., cutting diplomatic ties with Western nations and freezing their assets

As Russian troops were closing in on the Ukrainian capital, more and more Russians at home were speaking out against the invasion even as the government's official rhetoric grew increasingly harsher.

U.S. and European officials are holding one key financial sanction against Russia in reserve.

Russia's aggressive stance in Ukraine will unsettle oil and natural gas markets.

Germany scrapped plans for the Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline, amid Russia's decision to order troops into eastern Ukraine.

All eyes are now on Vladimir Putin, who will decide how Russia will respond amid fears that Europe could again be plunged into war.

Russia has been threatening to expand military ties with allies Venezuela and Cuba amid rising tensions with the U.S. over Ukraine.

The White House says President Joe Biden warned Ukraine's president on Thursday that there is a “distinct possibility” Russia could take military action against Ukraine in February.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning that President Vladimir Putin could quickly order an invasion of Ukraine if he has a pretext for doing so.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed rumblings he will run for vice president in what critics say is an attempted end-run around the constitution.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his foreign minister and his defense minister will head the candidates' list for the dominant United Russia party in September's parliamentary election.

In Poland, Russia, and other countries, rulers are anointing their own plutocrats—and ensuring their own self-preservation.

There is almost no news alternative to government propaganda on Russian television — save for one channel known as TV Rain. But it only streams on the Web after cable dropped.

President Joe Biden is being forced to go virtual for many of his leader-to-leader talks during the coronavirus pandemic, and the resulting Zoom meetings just aren't a natural fit for the back-slapping politician.

Russia and the United States exchanged documents Tuesday Jan. 26, 2021, to extend the New START nuclear treaty, their last remaining arms control pact, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin readout of a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they voiced satisfaction with the move. “An unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all.”AdThe treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits the number of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapons. “It’s a first step of reinvigorating ... the nuclear arms control regime.”The outgoing Trump administration made a late bid to extend the treaty, but Russia rejected its conditions. The Biden administration will also work on control measures for China's smaller but growing arsenal of nuclear warheads, Blinken said.

Russia and the United States exchanged documents Tuesday Jan. 26, 2021, to extend the New START nuclear treaty, their last remaining arms control pact, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin readout of a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they voiced satisfaction with the move. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill extending the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States a week before the pact was due to expire. Both houses of the Russian parliament voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the New START treaty for five years. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries.

Berdymukhamedov has published a book about the Alabai breed and has presented Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev with an Alabai puppy, and according to news reports Tuesday Jan. 26, 2021, he has now declared a national holiday to honor the local dog breed. (Yekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, FILE)ASHGABAT – Turkmenistan's autocratic leader has established a national holiday to honor the local dog breed, media reports said Tuesday. He published a book about the breed and in 2017 presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a puppy. In 2019, then Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was also given an Alabai puppy. Berdymukhamedov's son, Serdar, who heads the international Alabai association, reported to the president that the holiday will feature a beauty contest and agility competitions.

Russia and the United States exchanged documents Tuesday Jan 26, 2021, to extend the New START nuclear treaty, their last remaining arms control pact, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin readout of a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they voiced satisfaction with the move. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)MOSCOW – Russia and the United States traded documents Tuesday to extend their last remaining nuclear arms control treaty days before it is due to expire, the Kremlin said. “In the nearest days, the parties will complete the necessary procedures that will ensure further functioning of this important international legal nuclear arms control tool," the Kremlin said. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries.

(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Friday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to extend the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries, which is set to expire in less than two weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russia stands for extending the pact and is waiting to see the details of the U.S. proposal. The White House said Thursday that Biden has proposed to Russia a five-year extension of the New START treaty. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries. Arms control advocates have strongly called for New START’s preservation, warning that its lapse would remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces.

In this handout photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Months of talks between Russia and President Donald Trump's administration on the possible extension of the New START treaty have failed to narrow their differences. Biden has spoken in favor of the preservation of the New START treaty, which was negotiated during his tenure as U.S. vice president, and Russia has said it’s open for its quick and unconditional extension. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference Monday that Moscow is ready to move quickly to keep the pact alive. New START was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Intercontinental ballistic missiles are launched by the Vladimir Monomakh nuclear submarine of the Russian navy from the Sera of Okhotsk, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020. The submarine successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a show of readiness of the nation's nuclear deterrent. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)MOSCOW – A Russian nuclear submarine on Saturday successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a show of readiness of Moscow's nuclear forces amid tension with the U.S. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries still standing. Arms control advocates have warned that its expiration would remove any checks on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces, in a blow to global stability.

MOSCOW – The United States and Russia inched closer Tuesday to a deal to extend their last remaining arms control pact, after U.S. threats to allow the deal to expire early next year. “We appreciate the Russian Federation’s willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The pact limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START was the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that Russia couldn't agree to the U.S. proposal to limit tactical nuclear weapons alongside nuclear warheads that arm strategic missiles and bombers until Washington agreed to withdraw its nuclear warheads from Europe.

The cap would cover warheads not limited by the New START treaty. Trump's lead arms control negotiator, Marshall Billingslea, blamed the Russians for missing what he called an historic opportunity. "I can’t see any rationale for it.”The arms control effort is hampered in part by deteriorating trust between Washington and Moscow. "The United States is serious about arms control that will keep the entire world safe. Russia previously offered the pact’s extension for five years without any conditions, while the U.S. administration pushed for a new arms control agreement that would also include China.

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)MOSCOW – Russia's top diplomat voiced doubt Wednesday that Moscow and Washington could negotiate an extension of their last arms control pact still standing, even as the United States offered a more optimistic view. “I personally don't see the prospect,” Lavrov snapped when asked if the extension is possible before the pact expires in February. The New START treaty was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Lavrov specified Wednesday that Russia can’t accept the U.S. proposal to limit battlefield nuclear weapons alongside nuclear warheads that arm strategic missiles and bombers until the U.S. agrees to withdraw its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.

The Defenders of the Fatherland Day, celebrated in Russia on Feb. 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)MOSCOW Russia's security chief described the arrest of 33 Russian security contractors in Belarus as a presidential campaign stunt and warned Wednesday that it would have grave consequences for the ties between two neighbors and allies. Russia has demanded the release of the contractors for a private firm, saying they only were in Belarus because they missed a connecting flight to another country. Lukashenko denounced Moscow's position as part of Russia's alleged efforts to deprive Belarus of its independence. He warned Moscow against trying to fuel tensions in his country, saying that the instability could spread to Russia.

If they categorically refuse, we will not try to persuade them.The New START treaty was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, the New START is the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries. Russia has offered its extension without any conditions, while the Trump administration has pushed for a new arms control agreement that would also include China. Lavrov dismissed the U.S. suggestions that Russia help convince Beijing to join nuclear arms cuts, saying that Moscow respects the Chinese position and considers it undiplomatic" to push it on the issue. He reaffirmed that Russia would welcome other nuclear powers, including Britain, France and China to join nuclear arms cuts, but emphasized that it should be their own decision.

Former president of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Lamine Diack, center, arrives at the Paris courthouse, Monday, June 8, 2020. Lamine Diack jetted the world and rubbed shoulders with VIPs. The most conspicuous absentee was his son, Papa Massata Diack, who lives in Senegal and didn't travel to Paris for the trial. He conducted himself like a thug," Lamine Diack said in court. Prosecutors asked the court for a 4-year prison term and a fine of 500,000 euros ($562,000 ) for Lamine Diack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on the phone during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin via teleconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday endorsed Russia's nuclear deterrent policy which allows him to use atomic weapons in response to a conventional strike targeting the nation's critical government and military infrastructure. By including a non-nuclear attack as a possible trigger for Russian nuclear retaliation, the document appears to send a warning signal to the U.S. In line with Russian military doctrine, the new document reaffirms that the country could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or an aggression involving conventional weapons that threatens the very existence of the state.But the policy document now also offers a detailed description of situations that could trigger the use of nuclear weapons. They include the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies and an enemy attack with conventional weapons that threatens the country's existence.