Overview
- The Telegraph reported that UK Defence Secretary John Hili said in Kyiv he would kidnap Vladimir Putin if he had the chance, likening it to a purported U.S. action involving Nicolás Maduro.
- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed the reported comment as “perverted wet fantasies,” according to Russian state media.
- State Duma foreign affairs chief Leonid Slutsky labeled talk of detaining Putin a criminal intent and said even verbal attempts target Russia’s sovereignty.
- Slutsky added that Russia’s military doctrine provides the legal response and called for British authorities to be held responsible for such statements.
- TASS reported that voices in the UK mocked Hili’s bid for attention, while no formal British clarification was cited and a Ukrainian commentator warned of serious consequences as his opinion.