'Dictator Domino': Ukraine Depicts Putin Next In Line After Maduro's Capture, Khamenei's Killing

Last Updated:March 01, 2026, 20:35 IST

Ukraine posted a cryptic photo on its social media handle, suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was next in line after Khamenei's killing in Iran.

After the US-Israeli forces launched airstrikes that devastated Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ukraine posted a cryptic photo on its social media handle, suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was next in line.

The AI-generated image, captioned “dictator domino", showed the pictures of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Khamenei and Putin on black dominoes on a wooden surface. It depicts a sequence of authoritarian leaders “falling" like dominoes, with Putin next in line.

While the dominoes depicted the first three leaders as “fallen", the last domino with Putin’s image read ‘About To Fall’. This came as Ukraine’s war with Russia entered its fifth year in February.

Earlier, Israeli forces and US President Donald Trump confirmed that Khamenei was killed in the coordinated US-Israeli attack. Later, the Iranian state media also confirmed the matter and announced a 40-day mourning. Khamenei’s death was met with cheers and mourning across the world.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US and Israeli strikes on Iran have created an opportunity for the Iranian people to oust the “terrorist regime" in Tehran. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Iran of providing Moscow with weapons for its offensive.

“Although Ukrainians never threatened Iran, the Iranian regime chose to become Putin’s accomplice and supplied him with “shahed" drones, and not only the drones themselves, but also the technologies to produce them. Iran also provided other weapons to Russia," he said in a video address on social media.

“It is only fair to give the Iranian people a chance to get rid of the terrorist regime, to get rid of it and guarantee the safety of all nations that have suffered from terror originating in Iran," he added. “It is important that the United States is determined. And whenever America is determined, global criminals weaken."

News world 'Dictator Domino': Ukraine Depicts Putin Next In Line After Maduro's Capture, Khamenei's Killing

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