Lavrov Says Pentagon Is Threatening To
Assassinate Putin
Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge
(December 28, 2022) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday lashed out at what he described as threats coming out of the US to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, apparently in response to a slew of anonymously sourced reports.
“There are some ‘anonymous officials’ from the Pentagon who have actually enunciated threats to deliver a ‘decapitating strike’ on the Kremlin, which is, in fact, an assassination threat against the Russian president,” Lavrov said, according to TASS.
“If someone really has such ideas, then this someone should think long and hard about the possible consequences of such plans,” the top Russian diplomat warned.
The condemnation also came less than a week after Senator Lindsey Graham called for someone to “take out” the Russian president for the war in Ukraine to end.
But it appears Lavrov specifically had in mind a September report published in Newsweek which relied on anonymous US defense officials describing that the Biden administration was mulling plans for a “decapitation strike to kill Putin in the heart of the Kremlin.”
Below is the relevant section from that September 29 Newsweek article:
Details about what “decisively” means have not been publicly revealed. The military sources tell Newsweek that there are subtle moves being made with regard to nuclear threats, including moving submarines and aircraft and drilling B-52 bombers. But they stress that non-nuclear military options—the use of conventional weapons and special operations, as well as cyber and space attack — are front and center, to include a decapitation strike to kill Putin in the heart of the Kremlin.
Continuing his Tuesday response to this and more recent threats emanating from the West, Lavrov said that “It seems that they have shed all vestiges of respectability.”
He added: “The notorious [ex-British PM] Liz Truss is a vivid example given that she directly and publicly said during her pre-election campaign that she was ready to order a nuclear strike,” he recalled.
#Lavrov: The Western policy of total containment of Russia is extremely dangerous. It can eventually escalate into a direct armed-confrontation between nuclear powers.
We continue to repeat time and again
that a nuclear war cannot be won
and must never be fought.
— Sergey Lavrov
Lavrov also addressed a growing atmosphere of dangerous nuclear rhetoric and confrontation. “It is no secret to anyone that the strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying our country,” he said.
Related to this, he explained further, “[Ukrainian President] Vladimir Zelensky had gone as far as urging NATO states to deliver preventive nuclear strikes against Russia. This crosses the line of what is acceptable. However, we heard far worse statements from figures within the [Kiev] regime.” He said all of this was part of a US-NATO plan to weaken and divide Russia.
Comments
Steven Starr — In response to this insanity, Lavrov says: “We continue to repeat time and again that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
You may recall that Putin has said that he learned as a youth that “If a fight is inevitable, strike first”. How many more threats can the US make against Putin before all hell breaks loose?
Do you wonder why Russians consider the US to be an enemy?
More propaganda to condition Americans to accept war with Russia. No off-ramp for the neocons. Unless the neocons are removed from power in Washington, we are headed for nuclear war.
Tarak Kauff — There is no question that we are confronted with very privileged, unhinged, stupid (in terms of critical thinking intelligence) and malevolent people in our US government and ruling circles, including the media who repeat this stuff like parrots without outrage. They seem to have no idea that they are endangering all life on this planet. Internally, I throw my hands in the air in frustration over these imbeciles.
“We Are in It to Win It.”
Lindsey Graham Calls for Putin’s Murder
Sen. Lindsey Graham Says Ukraine War
Will Only End If Putin Is ‘Taken Out’
(December 22, 2022) — Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has repeated a call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated, saying that the only way the war in Ukraine could end is if Russia “breaks” and someone “takes Putin out.”
“How does this war end? When Russia breaks, and they take Putin out. Anything short of that, the war’s gonna continue,” Graham said on the Fox News program America Reports on Wednesday.
Graham said the US is “in it to win it, and the only way you’re gonna win it is to break the Russian military and have somebody in Russia take Putin out to give the Russian people a new lease on life.”
The hawkish senator made similar comments back in March when he asked if there was a “Brutus” in Russia who could kill Putin. In his comments on Wednesday, Graham also said the Biden administration should send Ukraine the advanced and long-range weapons that Kyiv has been asking for.
Graham wants US to give Ukraine drones to ‘kill tons of Russians’
When asked to what extent the US should continue to support Ukraine in the war, Graham replied, “completely, all in without equivocation.” He said the US needs to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons to help “dislodge” Russia from areas of eastern Ukraine, including Crimea.
He said if Ukraine had larger drones, such as Reapers and Gray Eagles, Ukraine would “kill tons of Russians without losing any Ukrainians in the endeavor.”
Ukraine has asked for Gray Eagle drones, which can fly for about 30 hours and are capable of carrying powerful Hellfire Missiles, but the Biden administration has held off from sending them so far.
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