The UK’s Defence Secretary has sparked international shockwaves after declaring that Vladimir Putin is the world leader he would most like to see taken into custody and held accountable for alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Speaking in an interview with The Kyiv Independent, John Healey said he would “kidnap” the Russian president in order to bring him to justice for atrocities he says he has witnessed first-hand.
“I’d take Putin into custody, hold him to account for these war crimes,” Healey said.
“Hold him to account for what I saw in Bucha on one of my first visits to Ukraine, and for the abduction of some of the Ukrainian kids that I met in Irpin.”
Remarks made during Kyiv talks
The comments were made during Healey’s visit to Kyiv, where he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal. Discussions focused on further military planning for the Multinational Force for Ukraine, which is already operational from its headquarters in Paris.
Healey, the Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, referenced Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv that became a symbol of alleged Russian war crimes after mass graves were discovered following Russia’s full-scale invasion in April 2022.
According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, more than 1,400 civilians were killed in the Bucha district during the occupation.
He also cited the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children, an issue that has drawn international condemnation and led to arrest warrants being issued by the International Criminal Court against senior Russian figures, including Putin.
War now longer than WWII campaign
Healey’s remarks come as Russia’s war in Ukraine reaches another grim milestone. Moscow has now been fighting in Ukraine for longer than the Soviet Union fought Nazi Germany during the Second World War, underscoring the scale and duration of the conflict.
Furious response from Moscow
The Kremlin reacted angrily to Healey’s comments. Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, dismissed the remarks in crude terms, describing them as the “wet dreams of British perverts”.
Her response reflects the increasingly hostile rhetoric between London and Moscow as Britain continues to position itself as one of Ukraine’s strongest military and diplomatic backers.
A blunt message
While Healey’s language was provocative, his comments underline the UK government’s hardening stance on accountability for alleged Russian war crimes, and its determination to keep pressure on the Kremlin as the conflict drags on.
