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MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that the West is effectively waging a full-scale war against Russia , adding that Moscow must respond fully and launch preemptive strikes if necessary, the state TASS news agency reported.

Medvedev currently serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council. He presented himself as a liberal reformer when he was president from 2008 to 2012, but has since emerged as one of the Kremlin's most vocal anti-Western hawks. Diplomats say his comments offer insights into the thinking of some members of the political elite.

"What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war (Western missile launches, satellite intelligence activity, etc.), sanctions packages, and loud talk about militarizing Europe," Medvedev said.

"This is another attempt to destroy the ' rule-breaking historical state ' hated by the West, which is our country Russia," Medvedev, who has accused the West of trying to undermine Moscow for centuries, was quoted as saying by TASS.

"We must act accordingly. Respond fully. If necessary, launch preemptive strikes," Medvedev said , adding that treachery runs in the blood of many in the West who have an outdated view of their own superiority.

The US-led NATO alliance views Russia as a major threat, and politicians across Western Europe have said that Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, could one day attack a NATO member state.

Medvedev dismissed Western officials' comments that Russia might attack Europe as nonsense , noting that President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected such comments as well .

"Western politicians' talk on this issue is complete nonsense. I would like to add that this nonsense is being deliberately spread in the media to destabilize an already difficult situation. This is another wing of the West's open war against us," he noted.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia and the United States are by far the world's two largest nuclear powers, possessing approximately 87 percent of all nuclear weapons, followed by China, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea.

(Prepared by Al-Shimaa Saad for the Arabic edition - Edited by Mahmoud Reda Murad)