Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev again compared Ukraine to Nazi Germany on Saturday when he suggested Ukraine be renamed 'Schweinisch Bandera-Reich' (Pig Bandera-Reich) in response to a Ukrainian petition calling on the Ukrainian government to rename the entirety of the Russian Federation 'Moscow.'
On Friday, Zelensky responded to the petition after it had passed the 25,000 signatures required to draw a response from the Ukrainian government. The petition, which accuses Russia of stealing the identity of all Rus' people in eastern Europe, called on Ukrainians to "reclaim our identity and our history."
Medvedev: If Ukraines renames Russia, Russia will rename Ukraine
Medvedev, who in his tweet referred to the Jewish-Ukrainian president as the "head Nazi in Kiev [sic]," warned that Russia's response to such a move by Ukraine would be tit-for-tat.
"[Zelensky] ordered to consider officially renaming Russia to Moscoviya. What would our response be? Renaming Ukraine as well, but not to Ukroland, and definitely not to Malorossiya," Medvedev wrote.
"Just Schweinisch Bandera-Reich. Exakt!" Medvedev suggested in a reference to Stepan Bandera, a wartime Ukrainian far-right leader whose Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists militant wing collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.
The head Nazi in Kiev has ordered to consider officially renaming Russia to Moscoviya. What would our response be? Renaming Ukraine as well, but not to Ukroland, and definitely not to Malorossiya. Just Schweinisch Bandera-Reich. Exakt!
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) March 11, 2023
Despite the "international legal consequences" of renaming the Russian Federation, as Zelensky noted, the president ordered a "comprehensive processing" of the petition by his prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, to examine the legality of such a move.