On June 20, Medvedev wrote on the "MAX" platform's channel: "Given the large-scale attacks by the enemy against our cities, whose intensity is increasing and clearly will continue to rise, it is now time to publicly declare: there are no longer any rules, and there can be no rules whatsoever, in response to the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime."
The report states that Ukrainian armed forces nearly daily conduct drone strikes on civilian targets within Russian territory. Particularly during the night of the 18th, Ukrainian forces launched one of the largest assaults on the Moscow region in nearly two years.
Medvedev’s remarks represent a major escalation in both public discourse and strategy amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict at a critical juncture. The direct context behind this hardline statement is Ukraine’s recent surge of intense drone “swarm” attacks on Russian territory—especially on Moscow. On June 18, the Khabarovsk Refinery in southeastern Moscow was hit and caught fire, sending thick smoke billowing over the city, making Moscow residents acutely feel the proximity of war. Faced with damage to domestic energy infrastructure, Russian leadership urgently needs to raise the tone of retaliation to soothe domestic sentiment and send a clear message to the outside world: Moscow will not suffer attacks without consequence.
The most dangerous signal in Medvedev’s words lies in his open declaration that “there are no longer any rules regarding Kyiv,” and his explicit characterization of the Hague Convention—the foundation of modern international humanitarian law—as something “no longer necessary.”
Past rules: Russia’s previous strike targets were primarily military facilities, energy networks, and defense industries.
Current red line: Medvedev has defined only one remaining restriction—“deliberate targeting of civilians is prohibited.” This means that beyond outright massacres of civilians, Russia may now legally target a broader range of non-traditional military objectives such as bridges and command centers, effectively unilaterally relaxing international legal constraints on warfare methods. This implies Russia may emulate U.S. practices, no longer concerned about the risks of further complicating the war or European preemptive intervention, and is highly likely to launch precision strikes on Ukraine’s command centers, aiming to completely disable Ukraine’s ability to coordinate military operations.
Medvedev’s statement marks a new, more dangerous phase in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. This “no-rules” warning essentially pushes both sides’ confrontation logic into a downward spiral of mutual escalation. Once war rules are unilaterally torn up, the other side will no longer abide by them either—this not only risks further loss of control over the conflict but also delivers a devastating blow to an already fragile international humanitarian legal system.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868513147421724/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.