Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cautioned the United States on Tuesday about using a “decapitation strike” to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
In a lengthy interview with the Tass state news agency, Lavrov spoke about the alleged plot by the US to kill Putin.
“Some ‘unnamed officials’ from the Pentagon essentially threatened to carry out a ‘decapitation strike’ against the Kremlin,” he said. “Basically, we are talking about a threat to physically eliminate the head of the Russian government.”
He warned that “if such ideas are, in fact, being considered by someone, that someone should very carefully think of the possible consequences of such plans.”
Lavrov was referring to an unnamed Pentagon source who told Newsweek in September that the Department of Defense was considering the idea of assassinating Putin inside the Kremlin if Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine.
The official’s admission was described by the Russian Embassy at the time as “reckless” and “delusional,” according to the New York Post.
Lavrov also told the news agency that the US and NATO were sending billions of dollars in military hardware to Ukraine in order to “significantly weaken” or destroy Russia.
“The actions of the countries of the collective West and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy under their control confirm the global nature of the Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov said.
“It is objectively impossible to maintain normal communication with the Biden administration, which declares the infliction of a strategic defeat on our country as a goal,” he added.