Zelensky asks US to kidnap Chechen leader
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has asked the US to kidnap the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, claiming the move would send a strong message to President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky made the remarks on Wednesday, demanding that his Western backers put more “pressure” on Russia and arguing that it would help end the Ukraine conflict.
The Ukrainian leader suggested that the US could kidnap Kadyrov to supposedly speed up the negotiations process. Zelensky praised Trump’s action against Venezuela and the kidnapping of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
“The whole world can see the result. They did it quickly. Well, let them carry out some kind of operation against Kadyrov… Maybe then Putin will see this and think about it,” Zelensky asserted.
The Chechen leader was quick to shoot back, accusing Zelensky of trying to disrupt the negotiation process rather than streamline it, while urging him to “man up” and take action on his own instead of hiding behind the Americans’ backs.
“The buffoon suggests the US authorities kidnap me. Mind you, he didn’t even threaten to do it himself, like a man would. He didn’t even attempt to entertain the thought. [Zelensky] cowardly hinted that he wouldn’t mind standing aside and watching from a safe distance,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.
The US launched a surprise attack on Venezuela over the weekend, bombing the capital city Caracas and staging a special forces raid to capture Maduro and his wife.
The couple was then transferred to New York to face assorted criminal charges, including drug trafficking. Maduro has vehemently denied all the accusations, describing himself as a “prisoner of war.”
US President Donald Trump has openly asserted that Washington will “run” Venezuela until an “orderly transition” is achieved while threatening the interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, with an even “bigger price” to pay if she resists Washington’s demands.
The US has pledged to take control of Venezuelan oil exports, with Trump claiming the country’s interim authorities will “turn over” 30 to 50 million barrels of “high-quality, sanctioned oil” to Washington.
While Rodriguez has vowed that her country “will never return to being the colony of another empire,” she also signaled openness to “cooperation” with Washington.
