Vladimir Putin's top crony Medvedev warns West and NATO 'World War 3 is here'

Career Putin-backer Dmitry Medvedev said World War Three is "already here" while claiming in a statement that Joe Biden's move would not materially change the war in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin's top crony has issued a shock World War Three warning claiming the next global conflict has already begun.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and one of the Russian despot's keenest allies, issued a strongly-worded statement today in which he condemned a recent US decision allowing Ukraine to launch missiles into Russian territory.

Joe Biden's administration has allowed Volodymyr Zelensky to launch American-made missiles into Russia, with allies of both Donald Trump and Putin decrying the move as escalation towards World War Three. In his statement, Medvedev took the warnings a dramatic step further, declaring it is "already WWIII".

In response to the move by the US, Putin has signed a new decree, titled the "Fundamentals of State Police in the Sphere of Nuclear Deterrence", which, state-run news agency TASS reports relaxes the parameters by which Russia will respond to attacks with nuclear weapons. The document reportedly states: "Nuclear weapons (NW) are an extreme measure to protect the sovereignty of the country.

"At the same time, due to the emergence of new military threats and risks, Russia needed to clarify the parameters that allow the use of NW." Despite claiming the missiles would "not be able to make a significant contribution" to Ukraine's war effort, Medvedev hailed the move and claimed the new global conflict has already begun.

He said: "After the dust raised by Western newspapers has settled a little, it is obvious that, despite the obvious propaganda intent of the publications, what is happening may have very serious consequences. It is not so important who and when made the decision to use NATO tactical ballistic and long-range cruise missiles 'deep into the territory' of Russia."

"Moreover, there have already been attempts to use them against our country. It is not so important how many of them the enemy has today. As well as the fact that their use, in the opinion of our enemies, should have not only a military, but also an informational effect. It is not so important that these missiles will not be able to make a significant contribution to the enemy's military actions."

Medvedev also claimed the US is "deliberately creating" an escalation for Donald Trump's administration as he claimed Russia has a right "to launch a retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction against Kyiv". He continued: "It is not so important that with such decisions the current US administration is deliberately creating such an escalation of the conflict that Trump's team will have to deal with.

"One thing is important - what the Head of the Russian State said on September 12. And as a result, a new version of the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence was approved today. The use of alliance missiles in this way can now be qualified as an attack by the bloc's countries on Russia.

"In this case, the right arises to launch a retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction against Kiev and the main NATO facilities, wherever they are. And this is already WWIII. Maybe old man Biden really decided to leave this life beautifully, taking with him a significant part of humanity."