That a diplomat in Geneva condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine isn't a surprise. That the diplomat is from Russia most certainly is. Boris Bondarev, described by the New York Times as a mid-level diplomat who has worked for Russia's Foreign Ministry for two decades, publicly issued a scathing resignation letter on Monday:
- "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 Feb. 24 of this year," wrote the 41-year-old Bondarev, referring to the launch of the invasion.
- "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."
Bondarev confirmed the resignation letter to the
AP, telling the outlet that his nation's Foreign Ministry "is all about warmongering, lies, and hatred," not diplomacy. Bondarev adds that he doesn't plan to leave Geneva, and he's no doubt unwelcome in his native country. "Boris Bondarev is a hero," says Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, a nongovernmental organization, per the
Washington Post. "We are now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations—and worldwide—to follow his moral example and resign." So far, Russia's mission to the UN in Geneva hasn't responded to the letter. (More
Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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