Defence Secretary John Healey has expressed a strong stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin, declaring he would “apprehend” the leader and ensure he faces justice for alleged war crimes.
Speaking as the Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, Healey, 65, commented in the aftermath of a deadly drone attack on a residential tower in Kyiv on January 9, which resulted in four fatalities.
When questioned about which global leader he would hypothetically capture, Healey responded that he would “apprehend” the Kremlin’s head, holding him responsible for his actions.
Healey cited specific instances, including his observations from Bucha during his initial visits to Ukraine and the reported kidnapping of Ukrainian children he encountered in Irpin.
Bucha, a suburb situated northwest of Kyiv, gained notoriety as a stark reminder of the Kremlin’s brutal war crimes after the discovery of mass graves in April 2022, subsequent to the withdrawal of Russian forces.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, the region has witnessed over 1,400 civilian deaths, with 637 occurring in Bucha alone, including 37 children.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 over Moscow’s illegal deportation of civilians, including children, to Russia from occupied areas of Ukraine.
It comes as US special forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in a shock raid in the capital of Caracas last week.
The president raced to close a 6inch thick steel safe room door just seconds before he and his wife Cilia were snatched by the US.
Defence Secretary John Healey meets emergency service workers at the scene of last night’s drone attack in Kyiv
An airstrike hitting a residential tower block in Kyiv on January 9
Meanwhile, Mr Trump compared the raid to a ‘television show’ and suggested it was the greatest military operation since World War II.
Maduro faces drug trafficking charges in New York, as top Venezuelan officials are accused of working with international drug trafficking rings to syphon drugs into the US.
Elsewhere in Kyiv, the Defence Secretary stood before the carnage caused by brutal drone attacks which killed at least four and injured 24 others. Among the dead was a paramedic.
The airstrike also saw hundreds of thousands without electricity as temperatures are set to plummet to −17°C over the weekend.
Pointing to the wreckage, he said it tells you ‘all you need to know about President Putin and his determination not just to wage a war on Ukraine, but to target civilians, cities, [as well as] the infrastructure people depend on during the frosty winter.
‘This is a man who must be stopped. This is a war that must be stopped.
‘And our mission is to support Ukraine in its fight today and to help work to secure the peace for the moment.’
When Mr Trump was asked if he could envisage Putin being taken into custody, he said he didn’t believe it would be ‘necessary’.
However, he later admitted he was ‘very disappointed’ at Putin continuing the war instead of engaging in peace efforts.
Ukraine faced another night of bone-chilling cold caused by Russian strikes, targeting power plants while civilians are forced to endure temperatures of -11°C.
Trump shared a picture of Nicolas Maduro in US captivity on his platform, Truth Social, last week
US President Donald Trump during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9
Putin unleashed Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 121 strike drones, 94 of which were struck down by UAVs, the Ukrainian Air Force reported via Telegram .
A resident on the left bank of the Dnipro River said: ‘There’s not just a power outage in the city networks – there’s absolutely no electricity since 4 am.
‘It’s been almost a day without electricity, heat, or water. This is sheer hell. All their promises are futile.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned: ‘The Russians are exploiting the weather – the cold snap – trying to hit as many of our energy facilities as possible.
‘So much for their respect for America and all diplomacy.’
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nearly half of the capital’s apartment buildings — around 6,000 blocks — are now without heat, and urged residents to leave the city if they had somewhere warm to go.
Cruel new Russian Shahed drone strikes targeted electricity substations in Dnipro amid harsh subzero temperatures.
Meanwhile, Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih was yet again targeted by Putin, triggering power and heating outages.
The Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough spoke after a fatal drone strike of a residential block tower, which killed four, on January 9 in Kyiv
mpu_mobile_top When asked if he would kidnap any world leader, Healey said he would ‘take’ the Kremlin leader and ‘hold him to account’ for the war crimes he has committed (Pictured: A missile attack on Kyiv)
This came a day after Russia unleashed its new Oreshnik 8,000 mph hypersonic nuclear-capable missile on Lviv, just 40 miles from the border with NATO member, Poland.
And in the Black Sea, Russian strikes hit two foreign civilian ships used for Ukrainian food exports in what was described by the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kuleba, as an ‘act of terror’
A Syrian crew member was killed after a vessel, near the port of Odessa, was targeted while carrying soybeans.
Another attack was carried out near the port of Chornomorsk, according to the Kyiv Post. The ship was on its way to load grain.
In Kyiv, Healey also said British soldiers will start special training imminently, enabling them to be scrambled to Ukraine ‘within days’ of any peace deal with Russia.
He refused to say how many Brits would be stationed in the Eastern European country; however, it is estimated up to 7,500 could be sent, The Sun reported.
Healey said the troops will have relevant rules of engagement to ensure their protection.
