After the Ukrainian attacks in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, Russian state television once again used harsh rhetoric against the West. Moderator and propagandist Vladimir Solovyov declared in a show on the Rossiya-1 station that Russia should respond with attacks on targets in NATO countries. He mentioned Rotterdam, Great Britain and Scandinavia.
The Ukrainian attack came on the day of the start of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to available information, an oil terminal was also on fire in the city. Russian air defenses in the Leningrad region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, reported shooting down dozens of drones.
It was in connection with the attack on the oil infrastructure that Solovyov called for retaliation against the West.
“I think that for every attack on our terminal, we should carry out strikes against the terminals of NATO countries,” he said in the show. “It must be burning,” he added.
According to the Russian propagandist, Moscow should proceed “resolutely, hard, even cruelly”. In his speech, he subsequently attacked Ukrainians and Western countries.
“They, the Ukrainians, the Balts, the Germans, the British, the French and the Americans have made their choice. Can we finally make ours? Can the Russian bear finally stand up and disperse this pack of dusty dogs? Can we finally respond not only with Dmitry Medvedev’s social media, but also with merciless blows against the Nazi leadership?” Solovyov asked.
At the same time, he claimed that Russia should behave in such a way that the West would fear it.
However, Solovyov did not only criticize the West. After the attack on St. Petersburg, he also turned against the Russian army, especially against the new air defense commander, Alexander Chaika, who took office in May.
“Did anyone have any doubts that they would try to create an atmosphere for the St. Petersburg Forum? Was there no intelligence available?” asked the moderator.
“Do you need six months to get into it, to understand it, to figure it out? When you’re at war, you don’t have six months,” he added.
Soloviev is one of the most famous faces of Russian propaganda. He speaks regularly against Western countries and threatens Europe for a long time. In the past, he also spoke about rocket attacks on European capitals, including Prague, Berlin and London.
Russian state-controlled media often give space to extreme expressions. Similar shows are also watched by people outside of Russia because they show what messages the Russian regime is trying to present to the domestic audience.
The Russian Media Monitor project drew attention to Solovyov’s latest statement. It was founded by Julia Davis, an American journalist of Ukrainian origin, who works for The Daily Beast. Davis is on the sanctions list of the Russian Federation.
