Ruben Gallego's comments that the United States should defend Ukraine by any means necessary to prevent Putin from invading that country did not sit well with one Russian politician, saying that Gallego "should be placed under surveillance and kidnapped whenever he travels again."

Gallego, a former Marine who fought in Iraq, didn't think too much of Zhuravlyov's threat.

Source: Daily Beast

Appearing on state TV show 60 Minutes on Wednesday, State Duma member and chairman of Russia’s nationalist Rodina party Aleksei Zhuravlyov openly advocated for the abduction and imprisonment of U.S Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) over comments he made about how to handle the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis.

After returning to the United States from his recent trip to Ukraine, Gallego urged the Biden administration to take additional steps to deter further Russian aggression toward its neighbor by sanctioning Russia and arming Ukraine. In his interview from Kyiv on Sunday, Gallego told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s appetite for another escalation in Ukraine may be tempered only by a harsh military response.

Gallego said that Ukraine should be provided with more advanced weaponry that “will actually put a toll on the Russian troop movements and, you know, unfortunately that means we have to kill some Russians.” He added that Russians “only understand pure power, and we have to give the Ukrainian army and special forces the ability to do that.”

While it was clear that Rep. Gallego was referring to the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine—in the event the Kremlin resorts to further escalation—his words sparked fury in Moscow. Following the clip that showcased Gallego’s commentary, host of Russia’s 60 Minutes Olga Skabeeva described Americans as “parasites” who “don’t know history.” Zhuravlyov added that Gallego should be placed under surveillance and kidnapped whenever he travels again, in order to transport him to Russia. He specified: “We should be looking for that bud, and if he travels anywhere–grab him like Bout and bring him over here.”

He was referring to Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was extradited from Thailand to the U.S. in 2010.