Medvedev marks Russia Day by shredding photos of Merz, von der Leyen and Starmer in AI video
To mark Russia Day on 12 June, Russian Security Council deputy chair Dmitry Medvedev posted an AI-generated video on X showing him feeding photos of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer into a paper shredder.
The AI video and its message
To mark Russia Day on 12 June, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, chair of the United Russia party, and former president, posted a short AI-generated video on X. The five-second clip featured a digital Medvedev feeding photographs of three European leaders (German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer) into a paper shredder. The post was captioned with a blunt message that read, “No enemy can stop the growth and prosperity of our Motherland. Happy Russia Day!” The holiday commemorates the adoption of Russia’s declaration of state sovereignty in 1990.
No enemy can stop the growth and prosperity of our Motherland. Happy Russia Day!
Diplomatic backdrop
The video followed a tense diplomatic episode the previous day. On 11 June, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galusin summoned the ambassadors of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom in Moscow. Following the meeting, the Russian foreign ministry accused the three governments of maintaining a “destructive policy” and, through their military support for Ukraine, effectively waging a “war against Russia.” France’s ambassador, Nicolas de Rivière, characterized the conversation as “good” and reaffirmed European backing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with the involvement of the United States and Europe.
- Russian deputy foreign minister meets German, French and UK ambassadors, accuses them of 'destructive policy' and waging a 'war against Russia'.
- Medvedev tells United Russia gathering that the West is conducting a 'hybrid war' to cancel Russian culture.
- Medvedev posts AI-generated video on X shredding photos of Merz, von der Leyen and Starmer for Russia Day.
Medvedev’s hawkish turn
Medvedev, 60, served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012 and prime minister until 2020. Once perceived as a modernizing, pro-market figure, he has turned radically hardline since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today he is one of the Kremlin’s most belligerent public voices, regularly threatening nuclear escalation and attacking Western governments. In late May he addressed EU citizens directly, writing that their authorities had “unilaterally started a war with Russia.” On the eve of Russia Day, at a United Russia gathering, he expanded that narrative, accusing the West of waging a “hybrid war” designed to erase Russian identity.
We live under unprecedented pressure. But this is not just economic pressure; it is also informational pressure, and it is coordinated and very, very active. Using their momentum, it is an element of hybrid war against our country.
Medvedev’s shredder video, though brief, encapsulates the Kremlin’s current stance: a performative rejection of European diplomacy and an assertion of Russian resilience, all packaged for social media consumption.
