Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that the United States should take out Russian leader Vladimir Putin next, following the capture of Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
In a series of early morning strikes, a United States Special Forces-led operation saw the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face criminal charges in the Southern District of New York related to Narco-Terrorism.
The toppling of the socialist dictator, who had ruled Venezuela with an iron fist since 2013, was met with approval in Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggesting that similar methods could be used to deal with Vladimir Putin, who has waged a nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
Speaking to the press following a meeting of European national security advisors, Zelensky said, per Ukrinform, of the toppling of Maduro: “Well, what can I say? If dictators can be dealt with like this, then the United States of America knows what it should do next.”
The potentially incendiary comments from the Ukrainian leader come amid tense negotiations led by the Trump administration to forge a lasting peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Tensions were heightened last week over what the Kremlin has claimed was a Ukrainian drone strike on Putin’s presidential residence in Novgorod region. While Moscow has claimed to have proof, the United States CIA has reportedly found that the strikes were not intended to hit the Russian leader’s residence.
In the wake of the capture of Maduro, others suggested that the operation may give grounds for Russia to use similar tactics in Ukraine. Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis surmised that Putin must be thinking: “Maybe I should arrest Zelensky too and hand him over to Russian justice?”
In contrast to Zelensky, Moscow has condemned the overthrow of Maduro and has called on the United States to “reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse.”
Despite having resorted to military means in the Ukrainian conflict, the Kremlin further stated that “any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela” should be resolved “through dialogue.”
Prior to his toppling, Maduro, who was a staunch ally of Putin’s, was heavily critical of Zelensky. During his weekly television programme With Maduro in March of last year, the socialist dictator described his Ukrainian counterpart as a “clown”.
Maduro further predicted that Zelensky would be discarded by “U.S. imperialism”, saying that it was his “fate” for having sold his “soul to the devil” of America.
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