PHOTO The Russian press published images of Dmitry Medvedev in military uniform, but missed a detail

Russian state media announced on Monday that former Prime Minister and President Dmitry Medvedev had paid a visit to troops in the Orenburg region, sharing several photos of him in military uniform. But one thing caught the attention.

The Orenburg region is more than 1,400 kilometers southeast of Moscow, on the border with Kazakhstan and a long way from the fighting in Ukraine.

The Kremlin Pool, the official page of Kremlin-accredited journalists, tweeted several photos from the visit of Medvedev, currently deputy chairman of Russia’s Defense Council. In one of the propaganda photos, the Russian official can be seen looking through half-closed binoculars, which was immediately noticed by netizens.

“Judging by this photo, Dmitry Medvedev has seen…well, not very much,” https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1556926537647144966 on his Twitter page and BBC journalist Francis Scarr who monitors Russian media and television coverage.

Dmitry Medvedev, one of Russia’s most aggressive leaders

Once considered a hope for Russia’s liberals, Medvedev has stood out for his many bellicose statements towards Ukraine and the West since the launch of the “special military operation” on 24 February.

Just two days after the start of the invasion, he was saying that Russia does not need diplomatic relations with Western states and that Moscow should put locks on embassies.

The former president and prime minister of Russia claimed in a post on his Telegram channel in June that he “hates” Ukrainians and Westerners.

“I’m often asked why my posts on Telegram are so harsh. The answer is that I hate them. They are scoundrels and bastards. They want death for us, Russia. And as long as I’m alive, I will do everything to make them disappear,” Medvedev wrote.

Medvedev, threats of “Doomsday”

A month later, he stated for the RIA Novosti agency that, in the event of an attack on Crimea, Ukraine will experience “a very quick and difficult Day of Judgment”.

“The consequences are obvious, if something like this happens, the Day of Judgment will come for all of them in an instant. Very fast and difficult. Hiding will be very difficult,” he said on July 17.

On July 27, he was the one who already published the infamous map that showed Ukraine divided between several neighboring states, including Romania.

In early August, he stated on his VKontakte page that Georgia and Kazakhstan are “artificial states” and that “all peoples, who once inhabited the great and mighty USSR, will live together again in friendship.”

He later claimed that the post was made by someone else after his VKontakte account, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, was hacked.

Most recently, he said on Monday that the war in Ukraine is an attempt by the United States to destroy Russia, even though it was Moscow that launched the invasion.

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