Yuri Kobzar00:13, 11.01.26

The minister made the statement while standing near the Kyiv high-rise building that was hit by a Russian drone.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin deserves to be kidnapped and brought to justice, as recently happened to his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro . This opinion was expressed by British Defence Secretary John Healey in a comment to Kyiv Independent journalist Chris York.

On Friday, Healey visited Kyiv. Just hours earlier, Russia launched one of the largest air strikes on the Ukrainian capital since the war.

Speaking to a journalist against the backdrop of a high-rise building hit by a Russian drone, the UK’s defence secretary answered a question about which world leader he would kidnap if he had the chance.

“I would take Putin into custody, I would hold him accountable for these war crimes, for what I saw in Bucha during one of my first visits to Ukraine, and for the kidnapping of some of the Ukrainian children I met in Irpen,” Healy said.

The journalist was even surprised by such frankness: “To be honest, I thought you would avoid this question,” he said.

(c)UNIAN 2026