Russian state TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, nicknamed ‘Putin’s voice’ because of his ideological affinity with the Russian president, has attacked “screwed up pacifists in Russia” who oppose the country deploying nuclear weapons.
Solovyov made the comments on his radio show Polniy Kontakt (Full Contact), which is also streamed online, following the assassination of pro-war Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky on April 2.
The Russian military is struggling to make headway in its invasion of Ukraine and has spent the past few months trying to capture the Donbas city of Bakhmut ahead of an anticipated counterattack by Kyiv. If Ukrainian forces break through they could reach Russian-occupied Crimea, which one Putin ally warned could lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
Speaking on his show, Solovyov speculated that, after the killing of Tatarsky, the Kremlin’s enemies could try to assassinate President Putin. He added that if this were “carried out by foreign intelligence services” it would amount to a “casus belli, and a nuclear strike would immediately follow.”
Casus belli is a Latin phrase for an act or situation provoking or justifying war.
Solovyov then launched a tirade against “screwed up pacifists in Russia” who argue that “under no circumstances” should Moscow deploy nuclear weapons.
The video was recorded, translated, and posted on YouTube by the Russian Media Monitor, an independent group set up by investigative journalist Julia Davis “in an effort to combat Russian propaganda.”
Later on, Solovyov predicted Russia will “fully move onto the war footing” if Ukraine achieves “strategic success” with a counter-attack.
Claiming he has “no doubt” how Putin would respond to such a reverse, he said: “If necessary, there will be a mobilization of our society and industries. All necessary army reserves will be brought in.
“The country will fully move onto the war footing. It will get stirred up like never before and will continue to fight, despite temporary losses, until the Nazi Ukrainian nation is completely destroyed along with its collaborators, including Poland, the Baltic states, and other dirtbags.”
The Kremlin has baselessly accused the Ukrainian government of being neo-Nazis, despite it being democratically elected and headed by Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
On Saturday, a new assessment from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said Russia is “heavily relying on artillery to offset key shortcomings” within its military in Ukraine.
However, it warned Russia’s shortage of shells will “undermine” this way of fighting.
Also on Saturday, the Ukrainian military shared footage of its self-propelled AHS Krab howitzers being used to hit Russian positions. Ukraine was gifted 18 of the howitzers in 2022 by Poland.
An accompanying post said: “The Krab self-propelled artillery system has shown itself well both in terms of aiming speed and firing range.
“We have studied the resource and capabilities of these machines and are providing manufacturers with proposals for their improvement.”
