Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov threatened attacks on NATO in a broadcast segment which the Russia watcher who shared it described as “apparently too radical even for his lenient Kremlin handlers.” Julia Davis, a journalist behind Russia Media Monitor which analyzes the country's state media, posted on X a clip from Solovyov’s radio and online show Full Contact. Angered at Norway's authorities seizing a Russian ship in the Svalbard archipelago at the request of Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, Solovyov called for Russian troops to go to the border with the NATO member and for ties with Germany and the EU to be severed. "We spit on NATO, bomb the hell out of it," he said.
Next to the video, Davis wrote that a portion of the three-hour broadcast had aired live but was not posted on state media websites and had been “deleted” because of its content. The video she shared had the message “deleted broadcast, recorded live" in the top right-hand corner. The version of the show did appear on the Russian media website yapolitic.ru, which carries other state broadcasts, and it is not clear if Solvyov’s comments had been censored.
Newsweek has contacted his media platform Solovyov Live for comment. Solovyov is aligned with Vladimir Putin in framing of the war in Ukraine on his radio and TV shows as a proxy battle with NATO, although his frequent calls for attacks on the West, which include nuclear strikes do not necessarily reflect Kremlin thinking. During Full Contact, Solovyov said "we’re fighting against a new threat” coming from the West which he described as “the ideology of European Nazism, the ideology of Satanism.” Kremlin rhetoric has often used the claim of “denazification” to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a charge which Kyiv and the international community has rejected.
He also described as “laughable” Russian links to a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4 established by German officials. Amid such “hysteria", he said, “I’m urging the severing of diplomatic relations with the EU,” adding “we should withdraw our recognition of Germany as a nation.” German officials described the incident in Leipzig as part of a broader pattern of Russian hybrid operations across Europe. The German government has officially blamed Russia, stating that only luck prevented major destruction and fatalities." Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) said that in 2025, Germany was the most targeted country of hybrid operations in Western Europe, with 35 out of 82 events.
Norway, a NATO nation which borders Russia, seized the Russian ship Professor Molchanov in the Svalbard archipelago on Wednesday at the request of Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, prompting Moscow to accuse Norway of piracy. This follows an arbitration ruling ordering Russia to compensate Naftogaz for assets expropriated after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea. The vessel is under a Norwegian district court order and will remain in port until further notice.
Solovyov described how “lowlifes seized our ship” following requests by “shady Ukrainian Nazi structures.” “Our Navy should be sent there to get the ship back by force,” he said adding that aviation should get involved if necessary.
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