‘I’m overwhelmed with pride for our president’: Olympic figure skating champion Tatyana Navka wades into Putin-Biden ‘killer’ row

Famed Russian ice dancer Tatyana Navka has spoken of her "pride" in Vladimir Putin after the Russian president was drawn into a political controversy following comments by his US counterpart, Joe Biden, calling him a "killer".

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated further after Biden’s remarks addressed to Putin, saying Moscow would “pay the price” for allegedly interfering in the 2020 US election to the advantage of his opponent, Donald Trump, who he recently replaced as president.

On Wednesday, Biden was asked by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos whether he thought Putin is “a killer,”.

He replied in the affirmative, adding that he had warned the Russian leader that Washington would react strongly if it discovered evidence of interference in the 2020 presidential election.

Responding to the interview, Putin wished Joe Biden well, noting that evaluating other countries “is like looking in a mirror.”

2006 Olympic champion Navka said she was hugely impressed by Putin’s reaction, which she emphatically considers the right response to Biden’s controversial comments.

“I’m overwhelmed with pride for our president who proves with his words and actions that the position doesn’t honor the man, but the man honors the position," she told her following of more than 1.3 million on Instagram.

"All that he has said was restrained, in the right manner, concrete and in the interests of Russia."

Navka, who competed along with Roman Kostomarov, has two world and three European titles in addition to her Olympic gold, which she claimed at the Torino Games.

The pair announced their retirement immediately after their Olympic triumph. Since then, Navka has participated in various TV shows in Russia and abroad.