One of Vladimir Putin's leading propagandists has launched a furious attack on the Norwegian Royal Family while saying Russia should "bomb the hell" out of the country after it seized a Russian vessel. Pro-Kremlin TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov said Russia should attack Norway, "whose population is no bigger than a spitball".
In his rant, Solovyov also attacked Norway's royal family, calling them "perverts". He said: "Norway, whose population is no bigger than a spitball, with a royal family of perverts. What is this freaking thing?" Solovyov added: "What is this pseudo-viking thing, Norway? Who are they? What kind of a country is it? Norway, which suddenly decided to threaten Russia and seize its ships. What kind of pirates of unknown seas are these? Send your troops to the Far North border. Their population is five million people, and Oslo, with its donkey of a King, should be erased."
Solovyov also added "Norway's size is fit for one bomb". His message came after Norwegian authorities seized a Russian vessel in the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard at the request of Ukraine.
A court in Norway ordered the seizure as part of efforts by Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz to recover a $4.22billion arbitration award.
The vessel is used for commercial expedition cruises, including to Svalbard, which sits more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of the Norwegian mainland.
"This is another important step towards restoring justice for Russia’s unlawful seizure of Naftogaz assets in Crimea," Naftogaz CEO Sergii Fedorenko said.
"Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award. We will continue to pursue Russian assets around the world."
Putin criticised the vessel seizure and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s warning to foreign airlines to avoid Russia because of Ukrainian long-range drone attacks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador Heidi Olufsen to Moscow to lodge a protest about the seizure of the vessel.
It said the ship belongs to Russia’s state weather and environmental monitoring agency, Rosgidromet, and that it carried workers, scientists, and cargo to Russian settlements on one of the islands in Svalbard.
Russia’s ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, told the state news agency Tass that the seizure was a "politically motivated violation of international law."