Russian diplomat quits over Ukraine war: ‘Told to keep my mouth shut’
- Boris Bondarev, who worked at the country’s mission at the UN in Geneva, says he can no longer share in this ‘bloody, witless and absolutely needless ignominy’
- He says he raised his concerns about Moscow’s invasion several times, but was told to remain silent to ‘avoid ramifications’
A Russian diplomat at the country’s permanent mission at the United Nations in Geneva said on Monday he was leaving his post because of his disagreement with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a rare political resignation over the war.
Boris Bondarev, who identified himself on LinkedIn as a counsellor at Russia’s permanent mission to the UN who worked on arms control, said: “I went to the mission like any other Monday morning and I forwarded my resignation letter and I walked out.”
“I started to imagine this a few years ago but the scale of this disaster drove me to do it,” he said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24.
He said he had raised his concerns about the invasion with senior embassy staff several times. “I was told to keep my mouth shut in order to avoid ramifications,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from the Russian permanent mission to the UN.