‘Ashamed’ Russian diplomat hits Vladimir Putin over Ukraine

A Russian diplomat fears Kremlin reprisals after resigning over the ‘bloody, witless and absolutely needless’ war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

A Russian diplomat fears Kremlin reprisals after resigning over the “bloody, witless and absolutely needless” war in Ukraine.

Boris Bondarev, a counsellor for the Russian mission at the UN in Geneva, said he had had enough of the “lies and unprofessionalism” in the country’s foreign ministry as he criticised figures within the Kremlin who want “to remain in power for ever”.

In a resignation letter published by a Swiss non-governmental organisation, he said the war launched by President Vladimir Putin was a “crime against the Ukrainian people” that would ruin the Russian economy and “all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society”.

“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,” Mr 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.

“Those who conceived this war want only one thing – to ­remain in power for ever, 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.”

Mr Bondarev is not the first ­official to have resigned over the war. Anatoly Chubais, a longtime aide to Mr Putin, quit in March. This month the head of the Russian consulate in Edinburgh ­appeared to step down when he posted a critical message of the government on Instagram, only for diplomats to later insist the post had been a “fake”.

In his letter Mr Bondarev ­reserved particular criticism for Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a highly educated multilinguist who has been in post since 2004.

“Minister Lavrov is a good ­illustration of the degradation of this system,” Mr Bondarev said. “In 18 years, he went from a professional and educated intellectual, whom many of my colleagues held in such high ­esteem, to a person who constantly broadcasts conflicting statements and threatens the world with nuclear weapons!

“Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy. It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves the 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 … I simply cannot any longer share in this bloody, witless and absolutely needless ignominy.”

Mr Bondarev later told reporters that he had not received any reaction from Russian officials but: “Am I concerned about the possible reaction from Moscow? I have to be concerned about it.”

Asked if some colleagues felt the same, he said: “Not all Russian diplomats are warmongering. They are reasonable but they have to keep their mouths shut.”

He suggested that he may be made an example of. “If my case is prosecuted, then if other people want to follow, they would not,” he said.

Hillel Neuer, director of the Swiss non-governmental organisation UN Watch, said Mr Bondarev was a hero.

“We are now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations – and worldwide – to follow his moral example and resign,” he said.

“Bondarev should be invited to speak in Davos this week and the US, the UK and the EU should lead the free world in creating a program to encourage more Russian diplomats to follow and ­defect, by providing protection, ­financial security and resettlement for diplomats and their families.”

The Times