MOSCOW - Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that the country is ramping up production of new-generation weapons to protect itself from enemies in Europe, the United States and Australia.

“We are increasing production of the most powerful means of destruction. Including those based on new principles,” Mr Medvedev said on messaging app Telegram.

“Our enemy dug in not only in the Kyiv province of our native Malorossiya,” Mr Medvedev said, using the term to describe territories of modern-day Ukraine that were part of the Russian Empire under the tsars.

“It is in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and a whole number of other places that pledged allegiance to the Nazis.”

Mr Medvedev, who serves as deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, did not provide details of the weapons.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia has been developing new types of weapons, including hypersonic weapons that he boasts can circumvent all existing missile defence systems.

Since Mr Putin sent troops to Ukraine on Feb 24, 57-year-old Medvedev has regularly taken to social media to write increasingly bombastic posts.

With Moscow on the back foot in its offensive in Ukraine, the military stalemate has raised fears Russia could resort to its nuclear arsenal to achieve a military breakthrough.

Last Friday, Mr Putin said Russia could amend its military doctrine by introducing the possibility of a pre-emptive strike to disarm an enemy, in an apparent reference to a nuclear attack.

The Kremlin chief claimed that Russia’s cruise missiles and hypersonic systems are “more modern and even more efficient” than those in the US. AFP