Russian lawmaker suggests pre-emptive missile strike on Alaska

A Russian lawmaker suggested the country launch a pre-emptive missile attack on Alaska in a television segment that surfaced just as Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to say Russian deaths from United States’ funding to Ukraine was “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

Duma Deputy Andrey Gurulyov said there were missiles stationed near the US “quite capable of scouring Alaska to the ground,” and that Russia should move with them instead of waiting for aggression from its enemies to attack.

Gurulyov’s comments came during an appearance on a state-run Russian news show hosted by Olga Skabeyeva, a commentator so known for her gleeful propaganda she’s earned the nickname the “Iron Doll of Putin TV.”

On the show, Gurulyov — who has previously suggested Britain be wiped “off the face of the Earth,” according to Newsweek — said Russia needed “not for us to respond to the threats we are confronted with, but for them to rush around with no idea what to do next.”

“We have a strategic nuclear force that holds America’s territory. Let me remind you, there’s Alaska across the strait,” he said, before listing off a number of different types of missiles Russia had at the ready. “It doesn’t take much, a couple of brigades will suffice,” he added.

When one commentator questioned Gurulyov on the strategy, Skabeyeva cut in and said an attack should be carried out “to make them feel scared.”

It is unclear when the alarming comments on the show were made, but the clip was posted to Twitter by former Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Herashchenk, on Friday— the same day Sen. Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.

Graham appeared to praise the deaths of Russians brought on by the nearly $38 billion in backing the US has provided Ukraine in their war with Russia.

A video of that meeting released by Zelenskiy’s office showed Graham say, “and now the Russians are dying” as they discussed the course of the war, and then cut to the senator saying with a smile, “It’s the best money we’ve ever spent.”

Russian officials responded with outrage to the comments, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling Shot Telegram, “It is difficult to imagine a greater shame for a country than having such senators.”

Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said “The old fool Senator Lindsey Graham said that the United States has never spent money so successfully as on the murder of Russians. He shouldn’t have done that.”

Graham brushed off the criticism on Sunday, saying he merely praised the Ukrainians’ efforts at repelling Russia.

“As usual the Russia propaganda machine is hard at work,” he said. “Mr. Medvedev, if you want Russians to stop dying in Ukraine, withdraw. Stop the invasion. Stop the war crimes. The truth is that you and Putin could care less about Russian soldiers.”

A full transcript of the meeting later made it clear that Graham did not make the comments side-by-side, but that the editing of the video had inadvertently made it appear he had.