Defence Secretary John Healey made the comments in Kyiv.

12:59, Sun, Jan 11, 2026 Updated: 12:59, Sun, Jan 11, 2026

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Putin (Image: Getty)

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UK Defence Secretary John Healey has said he would 'kidnap' Putin and hold him accountable for war crimes in Ukraine.

The comments came as he visited Kyiv on Friday after Moscow launched yet more missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Asked by the Kyiv Independent if he would kidnap any world leader, Mr Healey said he would “take Putin into custody and hold him to account for war crimes.”

He cited “what I saw in Bucha on one of my first visits to Ukraine,” and the abduction of “some of the Ukrainian kids that I met in [the city of] Irpin.”

Mass graves were uncovered in Bucha back in 2022 after Russian forces retreated, following their initial march towards the capital Kyiv.

Pointing to destroyed buildings in Ukraine, Mr Healey said it “tells you all you need to know about president Putin and his determination not just to wage a war on Ukraine, but to target civilians, cities, the infrastructure that people absolutely critically depend on in the middle of winter.

“This is a man who must be stopped. This is a war that must be stopped. And our mission is to support Ukraine in its fight today and to help work to secure the peace for the moment."