Ukraine

Russian Diplomat Quits Over Ukraine War, Says He's Ashamed Of His Country

MAY 23 2022·Updated JAN 5 2023

Story

Image credit: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

On Mon., diplomat Boris Bondarev resigned as a counselor at Russia's UN mission in Geneva in protest over the war in Ukraine and what he described as the degradation of the Russian political system.
Newsweek
In his resignation letter, sent to diplomats and published on social media, the 20-year veteran of Russia's Foreign Ministry said that since Russia had unleashed its "aggressive" war against Ukraine and the Western world, he'd never been "so ashamed" of his country.
nytimes
Bondarev, who worked as a counselor on arms control, accused Russian leadership of being pompous and ruthless at the expense of both Russians and Ukrainians.
FOX News
He also claimed that "warmongering, lies, and hatred" dominate the Russian Foreign Ministry under the leadership of Sergei Lavrov, who he asserted was a good example of the degradation of Russia's political system.
FOX News
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tues. responded by comparing Bondarev's resignation to an act of defection, saying "He is no longer with us but against us," and claiming that he was condemning actions "that are supported by almost the entire population of Russia."
The Moscow Times
Following the resignation of Russian climate envoy Anatoly Chubais in Mar., Bondarev's departure is the second and most high-profile resignation of a Russian diplomat since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Politico

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The Spin

Anti-Russia narrative

Boris Bondarev's arguments for resigning only prove that the West's assessment of Moscow's political elite is correct. Since Putin came to power, greed and warmongering have dominated Russia's political scene. It's the free world's moral obligation to do everything in its power to support decent people like Bondarev in breaking away from the Kremlin.

Atlantic

Pro-Russia narrative

Bondarev's resignation is just another welcome opportunity for the "free world" to demonize Russia and mask its own moral decay. It's telling, that, to this day, hardly any high-ranking Western politicians or officials have had the decency to resign over Iraq or numerous other wars that the West has unleashed in the name of "democracy and freedom."

Politico