'Wet Dreams of...Perverts': Russia Reacts to British Defense Secretary's 'Take Putin Into Custody for War Crimes' Remark

In a characteristically sharp escalation of rhetoric, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has lashed out at British Defense Secretary John Healey, dismissing his comments about detaining Vladimir Putin as the "wet dreams of British perverts," as per a report in the Kyiv Independent.

Zakharova made the comments to the state-controlled TV Centre channel on January 11 in response to remarks Healey gave to an Ukrainian newspaper on Jan 9 while visiting the site of a deadly Russian drone strike on a high-rise residential building in Kyiv.

Asked which world leader he would choose to kidnap if given the chance, Healey said he would "take (Russian President Vladimir) Putin into custody and hold him account for war crimes."

Standing at the site of the attack, Healey pointed to Russian atrocities he witnessed in Bucha in one of his first visits to Ukraine and "the abduction of some of the Ukrainian kids" he met in Irpin.

Healey's remarks came just one day after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack across Ukraine overnight on Jan. 8–9, killing at least four people and injuring 24 others in Kyiv, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Zakharova has a reputation for being sharp-tongued and "undiplomatic".

US President Donald Trump, who has spent months attempting to broker a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine since coming to power, earlier had dismissed the need to detain Putin.

Asked whether such a move might be necessary, Trump replied, "Well, I don't think it's going to be necessary," adding, "I've always had a great relationship with (Putin)."

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