A film director and former member of the Russian parliament has said “tactical nuclear weapons should have been used a long time ago” to end the current conflict in Ukraine.
If Russia were to do so, Vladimir Bortko added, it would “win in two weeks”. He also said: “We have to act in a strong way and for real. The war has changed, the war is totally different now. There isn’t much use for 100,000 tanks standing around. This is why tactical nuclear weapons exist.”
/news/world/2203828/putin-health-fears-russia-coupSolovyov discussed drone strikes and security fears surrounding Russia’s May 9 Victory Day commemorations, one of the Kremlin’s most symbolically important annual events. During the broadcast, Solovyov claimed Ukraine was acting under orders from the West and accused European countries of wanting Russia to suffer a “strategic defeat”.
The presenter also alleged NATO countries were helping Ukraine target Russian territory, saying: “Weapons flying at us are certainly not Ukrainian.” He also appeared to suggest that European countries harboured territorial ambitions against Russia.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is facing relentless and brutal mockery over his weary and haunted appearance as health fears around the Russian dictator soar. Fearing a coup or assassination by Ukraine, he was branded a “deeply frightened, aging dictator” over his ‘Victory Day’ showpiece in Moscow on Saturday by his Russian foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Ukrainian commentator Anton Gerashchenko pointed to one unflattering image of the 73-year-old’s swollen cheeks, posting: “The face of a ‘victor’ and the leader of a ‘superpower’. It seems sanctions have even reached Putin’s Botox”.
But Putin, however, claimed the war “is coming to an end” despite missile and drone strikes from Ukraine. The Russian dictator also mentioned Volodymyr Zelensky by name – a rare event – and acknowledged they could meet to seal a peace deal.
Russia’s president seemed to have allegedly changed his position on ending the conflict amid an outpouring of invective against the West and Ukraine. He did so amid a short three-day ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump that he only agreed to after Ukraine’s new domestically-produced missiles and drones succeeded in massively damaging key Russian targets
