A top ally to Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia could wipe Europe off the map if the Russian president is killed as the war in Ukraine rages on. Sergey Karaganov, a former adviser to Putin, made the tarrifying threat in an interview with American political commentator Tucker Carlson. 

He claimed that, if Putin was killed and Europe doesn’t help to end the war, Russia would strike Europe with “convential weapons” before launching “waves of nuclear strikes”. Mr Carlson questioned: “What would happen if your president were to be assassinated by the Ukrainians or Europe or the United States? What would be the next step?”

Mr Karaganov responded: “That would mean that we will punish – hopefully not the Unites States – but Europe will be taken away from the map of humanity.

“It should be pushed away from the geopolitical and strategic map because it is useless. I hope it will not be punished in the physical way, though I am starting to see these idiots not understand anything but physical pain.”

The current head of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defence Policy threatened “to punish Europe severely” if it continues to support Ukraine.

He said Europe defeating Russia is a “fantastic illusion”, one that has been pedalled due to the “intellectual incapacity” of European leaders.

He said: “What is defeat of Russia? If Russia comes ever close to a defeat, that would mean that Russia now would use nuclear weapons and Europe would be finished physically.

“So I mean, it’s simply impossible even to think about it, but they have been talking because they need a war to rationalise their stay in power, to rationalise their existence.

“Everybody in the world now laughs at Europe, which used to be, by the way, one of the core centers of world power. Now it’s a joke. And of course, I am not speaking of all Europe. We know that there are decent Europeans. There are smart Europeans.”