A veteran Russian diplomat has resigned in protest of Russia’s “aggressive war” in Ukraine.
The official was attached to the UN Office in Geneva and resigned before penning an angry letter to colleagues against the “aggressive war unleashed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reported.
In the letter, Boris Bondarev, 41, wrote about resigning from the Russian diplomatic mission and also addressed the letter in English to the Associated Press.
Bondarve had worked as a diplomat for two decades, but in a rare show of protest by a Russian official, penned his resignation, including posting it on a LinkedIn account denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine, and attacking the country’s foreign ministry for partaking in an “aggressive war” – critical language that has been banned in Russia under wartime censorship legislation.
"For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year [when Russia invaded Ukraine],” Bondarev wrote.
"The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country."
He also went on to rebuke Russian officials for corruption: "Those who conceived this war want only one thing - to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity. To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this."
He further went after the ministry of foreign affairs.
"I regret to admit that over all these twenty years the level of lies and unprofessionalism in the work of the Foreign Ministry has been increasing all the time. However, in most recent years, this has become simply catastrophic. Instead of unbiased information, impartial analysis and sober forecasting, there are propaganda clichés in the spirit of Soviet newspapers of the 1930s," he wrote.
"Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy. It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves interests of few, the very few people thus contributing to further isolation and degradation of my country. Russia no longer has allies, and there is no one to blame but its reckless and ill-conceived policy," the post continued.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant authenticated the post as having been written by Bondarev.
