The former Russian leader slammed Friedrich Merz over a purported threat that Kiev could use Berlin-supplied missiles to destroy the Crimean Bridge

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has branded incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz a Nazi after he allegedly suggested that Kiev should destroy the Crimean Bridge.

In an interview with state broadcaster ARD, Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and the likely future leader of Germany, stated that Berlin could supply long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but only if it is done in coordination with other EU nations.

Kiev should in the future use Western-supplied missiles to go on the offensive and destroy, for example, "the most important land connection between Russia and Crimea," Merz said.

Merz did not clarify if he meant the Crimean bridge, which stretches from Russia's Krasnodar Region to Crimea, or the 'land bridge' that Russian forces established with the peninsula when the former Ukrainian region off Kherson joined Russia.

However, many critics have interpreted Merz's words to mean the Crimean bridge, especially given that Kiev has already conducted a number of attacks on it since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

In a post on X on Monday, Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, suggested that Merz was following in the footsteps of his Nazi father.

"Chancellor candidate Fritz Merz is haunted by the memory of his father, who served in Hitler's Wehrmacht. Now Merz has suggested a strike on the Crimean Bridge. Think twice, Nazi," Medvedev wrote.

According to media reports, Merz's father Joachim was conscripted into the Wehrmacht - the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany - around 1941. His grandfather, Josef Paul Sauvigny, had also been a member of the Nazi party since 1933.

Russia's ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechaev, warned that delivering Taurus missiles to Ukraine would not alter the battlefield situation but could escalate the conflict, as the missiles would be guided by German specialists. He suggested this might provoke Moscow to take retaliatory measures.

Germany is Kiev's second-largest military donor, after the US. Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced that Berlin would provide the country with an additional $12 billion worth of military aid over the next four years and would continue to support it regardless of the upcoming change of government in Germany.

Russia has repeatedly slammed continued foreign assistance to Ukraine, arguing that it only serves to prolong hostilities and cause more bloodshed without affecting the ultimate outcome of the conflict.

(RT.com)