One of Vladimir Putin’s top propagandists has said Ukrainians should flee Kyiv as he urged Russia to strike a dam in the capital. Kremlin loyalist and TV host Vladimir Solovyov said Moscow’s forces should carry out the action in response to Ukrainian strikes on a dam inside Russian territory.
The Ukrainian military earlier this week claimed the attack on the dam near Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine, significantly disrupted Russian logistics and left several units cut off. An angry Mr Solovyov said Russia should carry out similar action on a dam in Kyiv and, in a chilling message to its residents, said “leave the city” as he warned of flooding. Speaking on his ‘The Evening with Vladimir Solovyov’ on Russian state TV, Mr Solovyov said: “At this point, will anyone dare to blame me for proposing that we blow up the Kyiv dam?”
He continued: “After what they’ve done in Belgorod, how can the Kyiv dam continue to exist?
“Furthermore, I’ll be surprised if in the coming days we won’t destroy those dams that we consider to be expedient. The Kyiv dam obviously has to be destroyed. How can this be questioned?”
Russia has targeted several dams during its almost four-year full-scale war in Ukraine.
The destruction of the major Nova Kakhovka dam in June 2023 is most notable, causing widespread flooding and being linked to warnings of food shortages in the country.
Mr Solovyov, who has been sanctioned by both the UK and the EU, went on to peddle the often used Russian misinformation that Moscow did not start the bloody conflict before warning Kyiv locals.
He said: “Residents of Kyiv, I’m asking you, I’m addressing you, if you have any remnants of a real understanding, if you aren’t a subjective idealists, leave the city.
“Especially those living in a potential flood zone, leave the city to avoid trouble .
“There will be trouble, it’s impossible for it not to come.”
A number of different guests were on Mr Solovyov’s show, with Russia’s new ‘super-torpedo’ another subject of discussion.
Andrey Klintsevich, a Russian military expert, said the nuclear-capable Poseidon weapon could hit Britain with a “tsunami”.
On Friday morning, Russia claimed its forces captured the village of Novooleksandrivka in Dnipropetrovsk eastern Ukraine.
US-led attempts to stop the war have so far failed, with reports suggesting Washington has cancelled a second summit between Donald Trump and Mr Putin in Budapest, Hungary, following a tense call between officials.
