Duterte slams Russia’s Putin for killing ‘children and the elderly’ in Ukraine
- The outgoing Philippine president, who calls Putin a friend, voiced his rebuke for the first time over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in remarks aired on Tuesday
- ‘Many say that Putin and I are both killers … But I kill criminals, I don’t kill children and the elderly,’ Duterte said in a televised cabinet meeting
Duterte, who openly calls Putin an idol and a friend, voiced his rebuke for the first time over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in remarks aired on Tuesday where he blamed the three-month old war for the spike in global oil prices that has battered many countries, including the Philippines.
While stressing he was not condemning the Russian president, Duterte disagreed with Putin’s labelling of the invasion as a “special military operation,” and said it was really a full-scale war waged against “a sovereign nation”.
“Many say that Putin and I are both killers. I’ve long told you Filipinos that I really kill. But I kill criminals, I don’t kill children and the elderly,” Duterte said in a televised weekly meeting with key cabinet officials. “We’re in two different worlds.”
Duterte, who steps down on June 30 when his turbulent six-year term ends, has presided over a brutal anti-drugs crackdown that has left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Human rights groups have cited a much higher casualty and say innocent people, including children, have been killed in the campaign that Duterte vows to continue up to his last day in office.