On March 16, 2014, against the backdrop of the Crimean referendum held a day prior, Kiselyov commented in his weekly current affairs and analytical programme "Vesti Nedeli" ("News of the Week") in the context of his presentation about Vladimir Putin being a stronger leader than U.S. president Barack Obama: "After all, Russia is the only country in the world that is truly capable of turning the USA into radioactive dust." He also suggested that that was the reason why Obama's hair had been turning grey. Vladimir Putin in October 2016 replied to a question about Kiselyov's "radioactive dust" remark by saying that nuclear sabre-rattling was "harmful rhetoric"; the Q&amp;A exchange was shortly afterwards commented on by Kiselyov in his programme, in which he elaborated on what Putin actually said.