“A dog’s death for a dog,” said the former Kremlin official, using a Russian phrase previously used by ex-President Dmitry Medvedev following the murder of a Russian military defector in Spain.

“It was an outdated, stupid tool. But I would pray not to accidentally anger Trump,” the ex-official continued, stressing that he supports many of Trump’s actions beyond his moves to dismantle RFE/RL and VOA.