By Shane CroucherShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA top Kremlin official launched a tirade against female European Union leaders, calling them "crazy hags" and "half-witted old biddies" for their stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Security Council, and a former president and prime minister of Russia, lashed out in a new post on Telegram early Wednesday.
"As Russia and the U.S. try to negotiate an end to the conflict, frigid Europe, headed by half-witted old biddies called Ursula and Kaja, is pushing for war to the last Ukrainian," Medvedev wrote, referring to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.
Tensions between Russia and Europe are especially strained amid the Ukraine war. European allies think Russia could be laying the ground for a much broader war on the continent beyond Ukraine, and so are trying to rapidly rearm the continent in response. Putin has dismissed seeking war with Europe—but warned that Russia is ready for it.
Russia is also trying to drive a greater wedge between Europe and the U.S., and is punching the bruise of differences within NATO over how to settle the Ukraine conflict. The U.S. has largely sidelined Europe from the current peace negotiations, which Ukraine and its continental allies fear means the Whtie House will eventually pressure Kyiv into capitulative terms with Russia.
Medvedev, in his post, cited the corruption scandal now engulfing Federica Mogherini, who previously held Kallas's foreign affairs role. Mogherini was arrested by Belgian police in a fraud investigation relating to contracts for training aspiring European diplomats. She now heads the College of Europe graduate school in Bruges.
He made reference to the British movie In Bruges. "One can only hope that these two crazy hags will soon follow in Ms. Mogherini’s footsteps," Medvedev said. "Or end up like the two protagonists of the aforementioned movie. And I sincerely hope they will."
Of the two protagonists in In Bruges, one dies by suicide and the other is shot, with a question mark over his survival.
Ukraine's European allies want the U.S. to take a harder stance on Russian demands in the current peace talks taking place. The Trump administration has said both sides will need to compromise in order to achieve peace.
Kallas, whom Medvedev called an "anti-Russian bitch" in his social media post, is particularly hawkish on Russia. She argues that Ukraine must be strengthened on the battlefield with better and more powerful weapons and that there should be little or no concessions made to the Kremlin on Ukrainian territory, NATO membership, and its security guarantees.
"In this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. Our job is to do all we can to support the victim and not reward the aggression," Kallas said after a meeting in Brussels of European defense ministers on Monday. "The goal is to have a just and durable peace, not a deal that lays ground for a next war."
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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