Russian politician jokes Kyiv children will “get rockets” at holiday event

A Russian politician was recently heard on video taken during a holiday event saying that children in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv will “get rockets.”

In a video posted to Twitter by the Belarusian news outlet Nexta TV, Russian politician OIeg Nilov is seen taking an ornament from a Christmas tree and reading it.

“The boy Vova from Kyiv dreams of rockets. Vova, you’ll get rockets, wait,” Nilov said in the video, according to a translation from Nexta TV. The outlet reported that the comments were made during a charity event at the Russian State Duma.

The comments by Nilov come amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, which began when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the special military operation in February.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the nation’s capital was recently targeted by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones sent by Russia.

“The terrorists began this morning with 13 Shaheds. According to preliminary information, all 13 drones were shot down by our air defense systems. Well done. I’m proud,” Zelensky said in a video. “Dear citizens, we thank the air defense and do not forget about the sirens.”

In a Telegram post on Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 10 Shahed-136 drones were shot down in the city.

In addition to the attacks on Kyiv, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recently said that Russian military attacks occurred in the Kherson region.

“Also, the invaders carried out more than 10 shellings…including across the city of Kherson,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Facebook.

“In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, Russian occupants continue…shelling at civilian infrastructure of settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro River,” the post added. “Areas of 28 settlements suffered fire impact.”

Videos posted on social media also appeared to show the Russian attacks in Kherson.

“Russian missile hit the Kherson Regional Administration. This is the same building where a month ago Ukrainians so happily raised our flag. It has no military value. Pure act of terror and vengeance. Which only shows how weak Russia is,” Maria Avdeeva, the research director at the European Expert Association in Ukraine, wrote in a tweet sharing a video of the attacks.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also shared similar videos on Twitter.

“Russians shelled the building of Kherson regional administration. Thankfully, no one was injured,” Gerashchenko wrote. “Russia is a terrorist state.”

Newsweek reached out to the foreign affairs ministry in both Russia and Ukraine for comment.