Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov warned of an incoming new world war that, in his claims, would see the West pitted against Muslims all over the world, whom Russia would back with the supply of weapons.
Solovyov is a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of the best-known figures in Kremlin-backed media. Talking on his show airing on Russia-1, the television host criticized the U.S. for recently providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, saying Americans believe "they can do anything."
"They delivered ATACMS. We should deliver everything America's enemies need," Solovyov can be heard saying in an excerpt shared (and translated) on YouTube by the Russian Media Monitor, an independent project monitoring Russian news media and Kremlin propaganda.
"To all of them! Any weapons that they need!" he continued. "To make sure there is not one spot on this Earth where soil doesn't burn under the feet of these neo-colonialist critters."
He added: "You want to kill Russian people? you are delivering weapons—you are hoping to get away with this? Supply any weapons—North Korea, Syria, or anyone else needs, anyone who is our ally or a situational ally in this war—give them everything so that not one American soldier on foreign territory as an occupant...they should not feel safe!"
Solovyov then said that a new world war is coming. "Do you even understand what will happen if a global jihad will start?" he said, adding that nobody can really grasp what would be the impact of a religious war, though he said that "NATO critters and its allies" would be to blame.
Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment via email.
Solovyov, who made his remarks after the blast at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, is not the first Kremlin propagandist to dwell on the possibility of a looming World War III. Another Putin ally, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, did so earlier this week. In her comments on the situation, Simonyan praised the fact that the start of the Israel-Hamas war has diverted the attention of Western powers away from Ukraine.
"This is wonderful, it's beautiful! Watch how the British instructors are leaving Ukraine because they have no more time for Ukraine, just like the Americans and everyone else, because the world is on the brink of World War III," she said, as translated by Russian Media Monitor.
On Thursday, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, warned that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a "full-scale regional war," according to Russian state news agency TASS.
"The Middle East is seeing another war. A cruel war without rules. A war based on terror and the doctrine of disproportionate use of force against the civilian population. As it is said today, both sides have gone 'berserk,'" Medvedev wrote in an article for newspaper Izvestia.
"Of course, it is more important for us to achieve success in the special military operation in our fight against the neo-Nazi in Ukraine, but what is going on in Palestine and Israel cannot but cause concern," he continued, repeating some of the claims the Kremlin used to justify its invasion of Ukraine.
"The current conflict between Palestinians and the Israelis is no exception. This conflict has all the chances to grow into a full-scale regional war. Or even into a global war if the situation develops in a bad way," Medvedev said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
