He said NATO should 'consider all options to remove from him power'
A former British Army chief has said NATO and the west should not rule out an assassination attempt on Putin.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan, said Putin represents a "permanent and deadly threat" and although killing him may be "unpalatable" to some, it could help save thousands of lives.
He told the
Mirror: "NATO should consider all options to remove him from power. That would include killing him although it is not likely to be viable or desirable."
The retired Army officer said that the ideal outcome would be for the Russian leader to be "deposed, arrested and tried" either in Russia or the International Criminal Court.
Several senior western figures, including
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
Health Secretary Sajid Javid, have said Russia's actions in Ukraine constitute war crimes.
However Colonel Kemp said he thought this was "highly unlikely ever to happen."
He added: “If it came to assassination that might be unpalatable to many but his life has no greater value than the lives of the thousands he has already murdered in Ukraine and elsewhere and may well kill in the future."
He went as far as to compare Putin to Hitler, pointing out that the government made plans to assassinate the Nazi leader during the second World War.
Colonel Kemp also pointed to the likes of Osama Bin Laden and Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi as previous examples of leaders who were killed by the west to counter threats.
One security specialist
has already predicted that an attempt will be made on Putin's life as discontent over the war in Ukraine
continues to grow in Russia.
The
New York Times reports that more than 860 Russians were detained on Sunday at protests against the war, bringing the total number of arrests at antiwar demonstrations to more than 14,500.
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