A close ally of Vladimir Putin has called on Donald Trump to order the assassination of Volodymyr Zelensky.
asserted
ally → call → Zelensky
Kremlin crony Dmitry Medvedev said the Ukrainian leader had done more damage to Trump's interests than US interventions in Venezuela, Cuba and Iran combined.
asserted
leader → say → Venezuela
He claimed Zelensky has a 'major grudge' against the US President and was being 'downright disrespectful' to Trump's administration.
asserted
Zelensky → claim → administration
In a ferocious online rant, he labelled the Ukrainian leader a 'festering green parasite' who was 'fleecing the Americans for enormous sums of money'.
asserted
who → label → money
It comes after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg and hailed Putin as a 'humanitarian'.
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envoy → come → humanitarian
Now Medvedev's chilling rant and demand for a CIA hit squad may be seen as a sign of the Kremlin failing in its war with Ukraine.
uncertain
Kremlin → see → Ukraine
Former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev called for Donald Trump to assisnate Volodymyr Zelensky
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One
Medvedev told the US president: 'American history itself offers a solution.
'All he has to do is summon the secretary of war and the CIA director and tell them to take care of this 'unfortunate little problem.'
asserted
he → call → problem
'After all, the man does far more damage to Trump's real interests than all the fallout from Trump's imaginary grievances against Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran combined.
asserted
man → do → Venezuela
Speaking on pro-Kremlin social media Max, he added: 'Why, exactly, should the occupant of the Oval Office have any reason to like the twitchy little bloodsucker?'
asserted
occupant → speak → bloodsucker
He 'pestered Trump like a fat green fly, rudely demanding money and weapons to keep the war against Russia going' and 'manipulated' Western leaders 'working day in and day out to turn them against Trump and his team.
asserted
He → pester → Trump
'
He 'repeatedly told Trump and his aides to get lost whenever they floated proposals for negotiating an end to the conflict' and 'through his reckless behavior, brought the United States and NATO to the brink of a global nuclear confrontation with Russia.'
asserted
they → tell → Russia
Medvedev said that 'in short, the Kiev scumbag regularly spits straight in the face of the US president, ignoring his demands and turning influential Americans [and not-so-influential Europeans] against him.
asserted
scumbag → say → him
To this festering green parasite, the president of the United States is a nobody.
asserted
president → fester → States
Which doesn't stop him and his entire Nazi gang from repeatedly fleecing the Americans for enormous sums of money.
asserted
Which → stop → money
It comes after the Kremlin has also accused Ukraine of using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles and drones to hit a major defence plant in Yelets, Lipestk region, a key manufacturer of batteries and accumulators for missile systems, aviation, and other military equipment.
asserted
Kremlin → come → systems
Thick black smoke was seen pouring from the plant after strikes by three or four missiles.
asserted
smoke → see → missiles
Thick black smoke was seen pouring from the Russian defence plant after Ukrainian strikes
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles and drones to hit the major defence plant
The deadly strike, allegedly with Storm Shadow missiles, was on Energia defence plant, which makes chemical-based power sources for multiple Russian weapons including Iskander-M ballistic missiles.
uncertain
which → see → missiles
Initial reports said that one person was killed and that early evacuation prevented more deaths.
asserted
evacuation → say → deaths
It is the second successive day the Russians have accused Ukraine of deploying Storm Shadows.
asserted
Russians → accuse → Shadows
On Saturday, multiple reports said they were deployed against high-tech Proton defence factory in Oryol, which makes components for Russian weapons of death including the Iskander-M, Pantsir-S1 and S-71 Kover missiles.
asserted
which → say → missiles
Russia claimed four were killed, while other reports indicated a higher toll.
asserted
reports → claim → toll
Both plants in Yelets and Oryol were sanctioned by Britain and other Western countries.
asserted
plants → sanction → Britain
In separate attacks today long-range Ukrainian drone strikes hit key military-linked plants in Perm in the Urals - a distance of 1,000 miles - and Omsk in Siberia, more than 1,600 miles.
asserted
strikes → hit → Siberia
Mr Witkoff also used his meeting in St. Petersburg to thank Putin for freeing Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American teacher who had been behind bars in Russia since 2022.
asserted
who → use → 2022
Putin also lifted export controls on Russian diesel.
asserted
Putin → lift → diesel
Russia announced the move as the envoy arrived, under a deal with Mr Trump that will soon see shipments head to the US.
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shipments → announce → US
Thanking the Russian president, Mr Witkoff said: 'I want to thank you for your decision to remove export controls on diesel oil from Russia and to sell not just to the United States but also to the world at large.
asserted
I → thank → world
I know the President is deeply grateful for it, as are our farmers and other truckers who use diesel and have been adversely affected by this diesel crisis, and people all over the world.
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who → know → world
So it's an example of us all working together, and I want to say thank you to you for that.'
asserted
I → work → that
Mr Witkoff added that he had brought 'ideas' for a possible peace deal with Ukraine, telling Putin: 'We've brought some papers.
asserted
We → add → papers
It's really some ideas, some sort of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and you'll read that at your leisure.'
asserted
you → read → leisure
Putin thanked Mr Trump for his efforts to resolve the war.
asserted
Putin → thank → war
The longtime Russian leader has repeatedly refused to hold face-to-face talks with Zelensky and said that Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine.
asserted
Moscow → refuse → Ukraine
Mr Witkoff told Putin he hoped trilateral talks could resume.
uncertain
talks → tell → Putin
'I'm hoping that you might consider that as a next step in the peace process so we can begin to have technical teams discussing what are those next steps,' he told the Russian leader.
uncertain
he → hop → leader
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes U.S. President's special envoy Steve Witkoff before a meeting at the Constantine Palace in Strelna, a suburb of St. Petersburg, Russia
Putin thanked the President for his 'attention' to the conflict and said the US leader had 'insisted that it was necessary to end this conflict' in their last phone call.
Russia's war against Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides as well as thousands of civilians.
asserted
war → welcome → civilians
Before he visited Russia, Mr Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in Norway to discuss the conflict with Russia.
Hopes for peace talks were renewed after Zelensky called for a three-way meeting with Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
asserted
Zelensky → visit → Trump
After a 'constructive' meeting with Mr Witkoff, Zelensky said in a press conference that the pair had raised the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting to 'address the issues that only the leaders can do'.
asserted
leaders → say → that
The Aporia
