Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has posted an angry social media message following strikes on Moscow's vessels in the Black Sea region.
Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments on his Telegram account hours after the Russian oil tanker SIG was hit on Friday night south of the Kerch Strait. Russian media reported that there were no spillages nor injuries among the 11-strong crew.
It came on the heels of a strike against the Russian warship Olenegorsky Gornyak, which was reportedly carried out by Ukraine's Navy and the country's security services.
It was the largest Russian naval vessel seriously damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on April 13, 2022.
"Bastards and degenerates understand only cruelty and force," Medvedev, who was Russian president between 2008 and 2012, wrote on Telegram.
Referring to the "scum" in Kyiv, he said that Ukraine was risking an "ecological catastrophe" in the Black Sea, apparently referring to the risk of an oil spill from attacks on shipping.
Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
An ally of President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev has used his Telegram channel to tout Russia's nuclear capabilities and to make nuclear threats against Western countries that support Kyiv against Moscow's aggression.
There has been a spike in attacks in the Black Sea by both sides since Moscow exited a deal which would allow the safe wartime passage of Ukrainian grain from ports in the shipping hub.
Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain facilities in the Odesa region, while Moscow has said that it has intercepted attempted drone attacks.
On Friday, Ukraine's naval forces officially declared the waters in the Russian-controlled part of the Black Sea as a "war risk" area.
While refraining from directly claiming responsibility for the attacks on Russian targets, Kyiv has welcomed the strikes.
Ukraine's Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Maliuk made comments which were interpreted as an admission that Kyiv was behind the attacks, calling them "absolutely logical" and "completely legal."
Meanwhile, Ukraine's national security and defense council secretary, Oleksii Danilov, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and naval drones had become "more accurate, operators more experienced, combat coordination more effective."
"August was particularly successful for Ukrainian hunters," he wrote, according to a translation. "Next is the expansion of the scale, range of combat operations, the level and severity of Russian losses."
