Top Russian security official questions whether Ukraine will ‘exist on the map’ in 2 years

A top Russian security official struck a threatening tone Wednesday in a social media post when he mockingly questioned whether Ukraine would exist in two years’ time.

Ukrainian energy officials are rushing to secure natural gas supplies to heat homes and power businesses ahead of the autumn and winter months as Russia’s war continues to devastate the nation. 

Officials reportedly met with the Biden administration earlier this month in an attempt to secure funding for gas imports from top suppliers in the Middle East.

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Washington may also consider supplying Ukraine with liquefied natural gas (LNG) under a lend-lease program, reported Foreign Policy this week.

Russian Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said he saw a proposal that would allow Ukraine to receive U.S. LNG under a two-year program.

“Just a question,” he wrote on Telegram. “Who said that in two years Ukraine will even exist on the world map?” 

Medvedev claimed that the U.S. doesn’t care whether it will be repaid and said the move was a part of an “anti-Russia” campaign. 

Moscow has accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of fueling the war by providing defensive arms to Ukraine after Russian forces illegally invaded its southern neighbor in February.

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Congress in April passed a World War II-era lend-lease program that was used to help defeat Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. 

The “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022” was unanimously passed in the Senate and only received 10 opposing votes in the House from GOP lawmakers before President Biden signed the bill in early May.

The program will make it easier to export military aid to Kyiv, though it is unclear if fuel or natural gas supplies can be included under this program. 

Russia has claimed its military ambitions in Ukraine are to gain “full control” over eastern and southern Ukraine. 

Though Kyiv has been sounding the alarm that Moscow will not stop until it has gained control over the entire country.

Medvedev’s comments Wednesday suggest Russia will make another attempt to besiege the capital and assert dominance over all of Ukraine.