The only Russian diplomat who retired because of the war: Without Vladimir Putin there will be only peace

Boris Bondarev He is the only Russian diplomat to resign in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, who turns one year old this week. In an interview with the EFE news agency, he asked the West to double its military support. Ukraine defeat the “criminal regime” of Vladimir Putin.

Bondarev, who is 42 and lives in Switzerland, says in a telematic interview that he is fine and prefers not to talk about his safety or whether he has received threats. “I’m a very small thing to worry about me,” he admits.

After 20 years as a diplomat bondarev he resigned last May while working at the Russian mission to the UN in Geneva.

In his resignation, he criticized the “senseless” war, was ashamed of his country, and criticized the Russian Foreign Ministry for spreading “lies, incitement to war and hatred.”

passivity and loyalty

No other Russian diplomat has followed suit, at least not publicly. He is not disappointed, because he knows the atmosphere of passivity and loyalty, which is encouraged.

“I can’t say that I am disappointed, because I didn’t expect anything. I know my colleagues. If more people spoke publicly, things might be different. probably would not have taken place,” it says.

He himself never believed that Putinwho he blames for the war were supposed to invade Ukraine.

“I knew it was a corrupt regime, that they were thieves, but I never thought that they would turn from thieves into murderers and war criminals,” he says.

bondarev sums up the social contract in Russia from Putin: If you avoid getting involved in politics and criticizing the government, you won’t have a problem. In turn, your life will remain more or less the same even during the war.

“In Moscow, shops are open, restaurants are full. People are having fun. There is nothing to indicate that there is a war going on,” he explains.

And he adds: “No one cares what happens in some remote and poor corners of Russia, where more soldiers are being recruited. And what’s more, it has no distribution.”

This hands-off mentality, except for an active minority, is a legacy of the Soviet past, from which Vladimir Putin it is beneficial.

“Putin has been teaching people for 20 years that they should only take care of their own lives. And leave all the questions of the state to him,” he says.

In this year of the war, he was most surprised by the poor performance of the Russian army, much more than he already suspected due to corruption.

“Corruption and incompetence are central characteristics of the regime Putin. So it shouldn’t surprise me,” he says.

Without Vladimir Putin there will be only peace

The former diplomat believes that “if you want peace, you must remove Vladimir Putin and its mode of equation”.

bondarev insists that Putin there is nothing more to offer the Russian people and that all she is doing now is blaming external so-called enemies for the country’s troubles and her own mistakes.

“It will always be a source of war, aggression, destabilization. And if Putin fails and remains in power, he will take it as a personal insult and will take revenge, ”he predicts.

“This war is their personal war, because no one around them wanted this war. And they don’t want her now. They follow it only because it is not their duty to think and decide,” he says.

The dissident criticizes countries that support Ukraine for not handing over weapons that could give Kyiv victory.

“Europe and the US do not seem to want Ukraine win this war They seem to want to push Ukraine towards peace with Russia. Like a formula to save Putin’s face,” he says.

That is why he is asking for a doubling of arms shipments to Ukrainebecause the defeat of the regime Putin will also benefit Russia.

“I don’t know how many tanks Spain has, but if she has a hundred tanks, deliver them Ukraine. This would be a great contribution to the security of the whole of Europe,” he says.

He also reproaches pacifist speeches calling for no military assistance to Kyiv: “The war will miraculously not stop if weapons are not given. In any case, there will be a Russian victory.”

In accordance with bondarevThis pacifist discourse, in addition to being paternalistic and arrogant, uses Ukraine’s sovereignty as a bargaining chip.

“The Ukrainian people should have the right to decide if they want peace or if they want to go to war or take back all of their territory,” he says.

“And these pacifists seem to be saying: we can divide Ukraine. Exchange part Ukraine With Putin in exchange for something, as if they are not free people, but something inferior that can be sacrificed,” concludes the former diplomat. (EFE)