An influential Russian news anchor reminded any viewers not already convinced of the nation’s nuclear might that Russia is “the only country in the world capable of turning the U.S.A. into radioactive dust.”
Dmitry K. Kiselyov, an anchor hand-picked by Russian President Vladimir Putin to head Russia Today who is notorious for delivering on-air rants against foreign leaders and gays, made the comments on the Sunday evening news as the U.S. condemned the Russia-backed referendum in Crimea, according to the New York Times.
Residents of Ukraine’s Crimea region voted overwhelmingly to break away from that country and join Russia. The Kremlin maintains that the referendum was perfectly legal.
Kiselyov raised the specter of Russia’s “dead hand” defense system, which would give the country a chance to strike if the U.S. attacked first.
“Even if people in all our command posts after an enemy atomic attack cannot be contacted, the system will automatically fire our missiles from mines and submarines in the right direction,” he said, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
Kiselyov also claimed that President Barack Obama’s hair had turned gray from fretting about Russia’s nuclear power, according to the Times.
Watch below. The audio is in Russian, but check out those graphics:
This post has been updated.
