Russian diplomat quits over ‘shameful war’ with Ukraine

A Russian diplomat to the United Nations office in Geneva, Boris Bondarev, has resigned from the position over the “shameful” war waged by his country against Ukraine.

In a statement sent to his foreign colleagues criticising the “aggressive war unleashed” by Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Ukraine, Bondarev, a veteran diplomat, said he “regretted being a Russian at this time.”

He condemned the invasion of Ukraine and lashed out at Russia’s foreign ministry.

“For 20 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,” the diplomat said in the statement first published by UN Watch, an advocacy group.

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“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.

“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.”

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