The outburst occurs as a response to The Times' reporting on the bomb that killed Russian General Igor Kirillov in Moscow on Tuesday. In an editorial, the act was described as a "legitimate defense action" by Ukraine, which has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
"Those who commit crimes against Russia have always had accomplices. They are also legitimate military targets now. This category includes the miserable scoundrels at The Times who cowardly hide behind their leader. This means the entire newspaper's leadership," writes Medvedev, currently deputy head of the Russian Security Council, on Telegram, according to The Guardian.
Igor Kirillov, the highest-ranking officer in the Russian military's defense against, among other things, chemical attacks and long-range weapons, was killed along with a colleague in an explosion when they left a building in Moscow early on Tuesday.
The day before, Ukrainian prosecutors had formally accused the general of using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy writes on X that Medvedev's "gangster threats against Times journalists reek of desperation".
Medvedev was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012. During the war in Ukraine, he has become notorious for his fiery, West-critical outbursts on Telegram, which some analysts see as the ex-president's attempt to maintain his political relevance.
