Russian propagandist Solovyov threatens US with nuclear strike over Senator Kennedy's remarks

Russian state propagandist Vladimir Solovyov this week threatened the United States with a nuclear strike in response to comments by Republican Senator John Kennedy, who called for tougher pressure on Putin. The threat was reported by Russian Media Monitor, a project run by Julia Davis, an American journalist of Ukrainian descent who writes for The Daily Beast.

"(Kennedy) wants to strangle someone. Let him try. What's the point of Americans fighting us? What would they get out of it? A nuclear strike that would destroy them?" Solovyov said on air.

Threat of a "strategic nuclear strike"

According to the propagandist, if the US were to side with Ukraine and enter direct military action — as he claimed Kennedy was suggesting — with the goal of killing Russia's leadership, this would be seen as far more than a mere cause for war. "This would be an unambiguous reason for a strategic nuclear strike, no discussion needed," he added.

In reality, Senator Kennedy was only referring to sanctions meant to figuratively "strangle" Putin — and Russia along with him — not to any plan to physically eliminate the Russian leader. Wrapping up his tirade, Solovyov posed a rhetorical question about whether the US would benefit from a nuclear strike: "Nothing would be left of civilization. Who needs a world without Russia in it?"

Kennedy calls Putin a "pirate"

The remarks were triggered by comments from Republican Senator John Kennedy, who in late August called Putin "a pirate with blood on his hands." According to NBC News, the senator directed his sharp criticism at American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner: "He doesn't care about niceties. You're not going to get any credit for being nice to him. You've got to show him you're serious."

Kennedy also pointed out that American lawmakers could still pass the sanctions bill introduced by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, which would impose harsh penalties on countries that continue buying Russian oil and oil products. "We should have passed that Russia sanctions bill, and we still have one more chance to do it," he said, adding that the US could then help Ukraine and Europe with intelligence sharing. He concluded: "Putin is on his knees. We're strangling him to death. We need to strangle him to death. It's the only thing he understands."

Who is Solovyov

Vladimir Solovyov is known for his regular tirades against Western countries. On the state-run channel Rossiya 1 and the radio station Vesti FM, he hosts several programs in which he periodically threatens the West with both nuclear and conventional strikes — despite the fact that relatives of Russia's top leadership reside in Western cities. Solovyov himself is under EU sanctions.

Source: novinky.cz