Russian state TV guest lets rip at pro-Putin host's call to 'wipe Kyiv off the face of Earth'

A guest on Russian state television has torn into a host who called for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to be "wiped off the face of the Earth".

The unusual criticism came on a discussion programme on the Russia-1 channel, which normally backs the military strategy of the country's president, Vladimir Putin.

Host Vladimir Solovyov called for a bombing campaign on Kyiv and Kharkiv as part of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Solovyov said: "I've asked this 100 times, why don't we say, if you're shelling us, Kharkiv will be destroyed, wiped off the face of the Earth, Kyiv will be destroyed."

But he was chided by guest Yaakov Kedmi, an Israeli former politician who was born in Moscow.

In a video flagged by Russian media monitor Julia Davis, Kedmi said: "It's obscene, it's not constructive, it's criminal to bomb peaceful cities."

Quoting Solovyov, Kedmi said: "These words, 'to wipe Kyiv and Kharkiv off the face of the Earth', they should not be uttered, especially in Russia.

"There were no wars in history where the bombing of a peaceful city, of a civilian population, ever led to some kind of results on the battlefield."

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He added: "You can't bomb peaceful cities. These things shouldn't even be uttered. To 'wipe a city off the face of the Earth' is obscene.

"There are 1,001 ways to fight without touching civilians."

Pundits on Russia television have been increasingly critical of Putin's invasion in recent months, after Ukraine recaptured several key areas of the country.

Kedmi is a case in point, having previously boasted that Russia could "bomb Britain back to the Stone Age" in just 10 minutes, he has also been critical of Putin's strategy.

In March, he said: "If you don’t take cities you achieve nothing. Not a single city has been taken. What was the strategic plan?"

Solovyov, a long-time Putin supporter, hosts a show on Russia-1 in which he talks about the president's achievements.

In February, he was sanctioned by the European Union just as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. In August, he suggested missile attacks on European cities such as Berlin, Paris, London and Brussels.

He has been dubbed one of the "faces of Kremlin propaganda" by the US state department.

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