John Healey’s comments have come in the wake of the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
UK Defense Secretary John Healey has said he would kidnap Russian President Vladimir Putin if given a choice out of all world leaders. The British official was answering a question from the Kiev Independent during a visit to the Ukrainian capital on Friday.
His comments came a week after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military raid on the oil-rich South American country. Maduro had previously warned that Washington wanted a regime change and to get its hands on Venezuelan resources.
The US actions drew strong condemnation from BRICS nations, including Russia, India, China, and Brazil, but also prompted a string of calls from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to adopt similar tactics against Moscow.
The Kiev Independent asked Healey what he would do “given the option of being able to kidnap any world leader.” The secretary said he would “take Putin into custody” while accusing the Russian president of “war crimes,” including the “kidnapping” of Ukrainian children – something that Russian negotiators publicly denied during talks in Istanbul last year.
London has previously emerged as one of Kiev’s key backers in its conflict with Moscow. In December, the British chief of defense staff urged the nation to be ready to switch to a wartime mindset in the event of hostilities with Russia.
Zelensky commented on the American raid by saying that “the United States knows what to do next” in a thinly veiled hint at Putin’s kidnapping. US President Donald Trump then dismissed the idea, saying it would be unnecessary when asked by journalists.
Ukraine’s leader then openly called on Washington to kidnap the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. He quickly shot back, telling Zelensky to “man up” and try it himself.
Moscow has denounced the abduction of Maduro as a gross violation of Venezuelan sovereignty. The Russian envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, described the US raid as “banditry” pushing the world toward “chaos and lawlessness.”
