Zelensky sends ‘worthless’ Putin warning over Khamenei – ‘this is how a dictatorship ends’ | World | News
Volodymyr Zelensky said that recent events in Iran showed the worthlessness of Russia as an ally and showed Vladimir Putin how dictatorships can end. Answering journalists’ questions about the consequences of the events in Iran for Russia, the Ukrainian leader said that Putin “has already shown what kind of ally he is” for him.
“It seems to me that today Putin has already shown what kind of ally he is in Syria; [the Russians] We could not help the regime [Bashar] Assad. Likewise from my point of view [the Russians] Now they have shown their weakness. So they are worthless as allies.” On December 8, 2024, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed with a major offensive by opposition forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lives in exile in Moscow, where he was granted asylum following his expulsion from power. He lives with his family under strict, secret and closely guarded conditions in a luxury apartment complex in the business district of Moscow city.
Syria has been temporarily ruled by Ahmed al-Shara since January 29, 2025.
Mr. Zelensky also said that Russia was concentrating all its military forces in Ukraine.
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“What’s happening in Iran, it seems to me, is a good message to Putin to look at how to end the dictatorship,” Zelensky added.
On Saturday, February 28, the United States and Israel dropped dozens of aerial bombs on the residence of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killing him along with the country’s top commanders. In response, Tehran has launched large-scale attacks with ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones on US bases and the territory of US-allied countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE.
Putin, along with two other senior officials, expressed his condolences to Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, who will lead Iran during the transition period, for Khamenei’s death, calling it “a cynical violation of all norms of human decency and international law.”
