Russian politician suggests kidnapping Nato defence minister in Ukraine

He said that any information provided by an interrogation may lead to a review of Russia’s military aims

Tom Ambrose
Tuesday 31 May 2022 15:26 BST
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Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament
Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament (REUTERS)

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A senior Russian politician has suggested his country’s security services should kidnap a Nato defence minister in Ukraine and take them to Moscow.

Oleg Morozov, who was first elected to the Russian parliament in 1993, said the supply of Western arms to Ukraine posed a direct threat to Russia.

He added that the information provided by any interrogation may lead to a review of Russia’s military aims, Reuters reported.

“You know, perhaps it is a fantastical plot that I have brewing... that in the near future, at some stage, a war minister of some Nato country will go by train to Kyiv to talk with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky," Morozov told the 60 Minutes talk show on Rossiya-1 state TV on Monday.

“But he would not get there. And would wake up somewhere in Moscow,” Morozov said.

“You mean we abduct them?”, asked TV host Olga Skabeyeva, one of the most pro-Kremlin journalists on television.

"Yes,” Morozon replied. “And then we would sort out who gave which order for what, who is responsible for what exactly.

“It is not such a mythical picture... There are new rules in the world now. Let all those war ministers gathering in Kyiv think a little about what it would be like to wake up in Moscow.”

An increase in confrontational rhetoric from pro-Kremlin voices in Moscow has been seen over the past few weeks.

Yesterday a Russian television personality with close links to Vladimir Putin threatened Britain, claiming the despot’s invasion could stretch as far as Stonehenge.

Firebrand anchorman Vladimir Solovyov, known as ‘Putin’s Voice’, and ranted that Russia could invade Britain and target Boris Johnson’s foreign secretary Liz Truss.

When asked by the Ukrainian political analyst Vasil Vakarov where Putin’s savage regime would stop its war, he replied: “Well, when we have to, then we will.

“Where will we stop? Well, as I was saying today, maybe Stonehenge. Liz Truss says she's the one fighting the war.”

The British foreign secretary has been in the crosshairs of Russian media rhetoric in recent months due to her unwillingness to compromise with Putin.

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