Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, the 19th of December, called President Vladimir Putin a “dumbass” in response to Putin’s “proposal” during his annual televised press conference for a “technological duel” between Russia’s Oreshnik missile and Western air defence in Ukraine, reports Politico.
“People are dying and he thinks it’s ‘interesting’… Dumbass,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media, next to a video of Putin talking about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
People are dying, and he thinks it’s “interesting”… Dumbass. pic.twitter.com/JyJ9ok0fok
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 19, 2024
Speaking at the conference, Putin claimed that Russia’s Oreshnik missile could not be intercepted by air defences and called on the West and Ukraine to “conduct a technological experiment”.
“Let’s call it the high-tech duel of the 21st century. Let them determine a place to strike, say Kyiv, let them concentrate all their air defences there, and we will strike with Oreshnik and see what happens,” Putin said. “It’s interesting.”
Zelenskyy also had harsh words for Putin at the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters that the Russian dictator was “crazy”.
“I think Putin is very dangerous, he doesn’t care about people’s lives… I think he is crazy, really,” Zelenskyy said after a meeting with European heads of government. “He loves to kill.”
Reuters reports that Putin at a conference on Thursday said he was ready to compromise on Ukraine with anyone, including President Zelenskyy or US President-elect Donald Trump, to end the war.
He stated that Russia has no preconditions for negotiations, except that any deal must involve Ukraine’s legitimate authorities, which the Kremlin so far considers to be only the Ukrainian parliament.
“We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises,” Putin said after announcing that Russian forces were moving across the front to achieve their main objectives in Ukraine.
“Soon there will be no more Ukrainians who want to fight, I think soon there will be no one who wants to fight. We are ready, but the other side has to be ready to negotiate and to compromise.”