The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a largely unmitigated mess from the get-go, and the Kremlin appears to be losing control of the narrative just 3 months into it.
Weeks ago, Russia banned Facebook and Instagram in an attempt to keep the Russian people from learning the true extent of the situation in Ukraine. These oppressed citizens have long been looking for a reason to oust Vladimir Putin, and the genocide of the Ukrainian people is as worthy a reason as any to turn revolutionary.
Now, one of the Kremlin’s most notable figures is bailing on Putin, and with a mighty ugly farewell to boot.
A veteran Russian diplomat to the U.N. Office at Geneva says he handed in his resignation before sending out a scathing letter to foreign colleagues inveighing against the “aggressive war unleashed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.
Boris Bondarev, 41, confirmed his resignation in a letter delivered Monday morning after a diplomatic official passed on his English-language statement to The Associated Press.
He did not mince his words.
“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 Feb. 24 of this year,” he wrote, alluding to the date of Russia’s invasion.
The move, while rare, could signal a vast shift in the narrative, particularly as Putin’s belligerent actions continue to incense the world at large, as well as Mother Russia herself.
