Vladimir Putin’s leading propagandist on Russian state TV has suggested that Moscow should simply blow up the Kyiv dam and flood the Ukrainian capital to deal a killer blow in the war.
The shocking tirade comes amid growing frustration in Russia at the slow progress of the country’s offensive along the frontline in Ukraine. There is also anger after 90 countries around the world attended a Ukrainian peace summit in Switzerland which did not invite Russia.
During a furious rant on Russia‘s premier state TV channel, Vladimir Solovyov said he did “not understand” why Russia had not yet bombed the dam and flooded Kyiv. The Kyiv Dam is part of the Hydroelectric Station on the immense Dnieper River, which helps power much of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
A fed-up Mr Solovyov told viewers: “I do not understand this. Why is the Kyiv dam still standing? I don’t understand.
“I believe we must move to a position of hardest punishment.
“The Kyiv dam must be blown up and the capital of Ukraine should be flooded. They shell ours in Belgorod.”
He then mentioned Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine‘s military intelligence, who recently teased a Ukrainian strike on the Kerch bridge in Crimea. He said that a third attack on the site was “inevitable”.
The Kremlin propagandist said: “We had Budanov talking about the Crimean bridge. If you demolish the f****** dam then he will have to think about Kyiv!”
The rant calling for what amounts to a war crime comes just a few days after Vladimir Putin put forward a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.
However, Mr Solovyov is not a stranger to furious rants. In the first week of June, he said that Russia was “already in World War 3”. He said that Russia should “inflict colossal damage to the manpower and equipment of NATO troops stationed anywhere in the world”.
The popular TV presenter added: “Military plants and warehouses throughout NATO territory should be blown up.”
The rant came days after President Putin suggested his military could attack NATO with “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world.
The threat was a response to US President Biden allowing Ukraine to use American weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Last month, Russian forces launched an offensive in Ukraine‘s northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia. President Putin said he wanted to establish a buffer zone there to prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks.
However, Russia’s gains have been incremental and costly. In the Kharkiv region, Russian units have become bogged down in the city of Vovchansk.
