The Kremlin has called on Donald Trump to order the assassination of Volodymyr Zelensky, with close Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev telling the US president that American history offers a solution.
Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister who currently serves as Putin's number-two on the Kremlin's security council, said Trump should "summon the secretary of war and the CIA director and tell them to take care of this 'unfortunate little problem.'"
He added: "The how, where, and by what means are irrelevant."
Medvedev's Rant Against Zelensky
In a post on pro-Kremlin social media platform Max, Medvedev sought to poison Zelensky in Trump's eyes, claiming the Ukrainian leader has a "major grudge" against the US president "and is being downright disrespectful to him at every turn."
Medvedev said Zelensky "pestered Trump like a fat green fly, rudely demanding money and weapons to keep the war against Russia going" and "manipulated" Western leaders "working day in and day out to turn them against Trump and his team."
He also accused Zelensky of having "repeatedly told Trump and his aides to get lost whenever they floated proposals for negotiating an end to the conflict" and of having "brought the United States and NATO to the brink of a global nuclear confrontation with Russia" through his "reckless behavior."
Strikes on Russian Defence Plants
The assassination call came as Russians separately accused Ukraine of using deadly British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles as well as drones to hit a major Putin defence plant in Yelets, Liptsek region, a key manufacturer of batteries and accumulators for Putin's missile systems, aviation, and other military equipment.
Thick black smoke was seen pouring from the plant after strikes by three or four missiles. The deadly strike was allegedly on the Energia defence plant, which makes chemical-based power sources for multiple Russian weapons including Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Initial reports said that one person was killed and that early evacuation prevented more deaths.
It is the second successive day the Russians have accused Ukraine of deploying Storm Shadows. On Saturday, multiple reports said they were deployed against the high-tech Proton defence factory in Oryol, which makes components for Russian weapons including the Iskander-M, Pantsir-S1 and S-71 Kover missiles. Russia claimed four were killed, while other reports indicated a higher toll.
Both plants in Yelets and Oryol were sanctioned by Britain and other Western countries. In separate attacks today, long-range Ukrainian drone strikes hit key military-linked targets, though further details were not provided.
