Russian Politician Says It's Time To 'Admit' Real Reason For Ukraine War
Russian State Duma member Andrey Gurulyov called on the Kremlin to "admit" the real reason for the Ukraine invasion during a recent appearance on Russian state TV.
After launching the war last February, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered a number of reasons for invading Ukraine. He has argued he is only trying to "liberate" Donbas, a separatist region in southeastern Ukraine with linguistic ties to Russia. He has also said he aimed to remove Nazis from the Ukrainian government, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself being Jewish.
Most world leaders have condemned the "special military operation," arguing it lacks real justification beyond Putin's ideal goal of retaking Ukraine's territory, but the Kremlin has maintained its stated goals nearly one year after entering Ukraine.
Gurulyov argued Putin should finally own up to why he launched the Ukraine invasion during the Russian state TV appearance. The Kremlin has cracked down on free press amid the war, meaning the television news show largely serves as Putin's propaganda. His remarks were translated and posted to Twitter by journalist Julia Davis, who regularly tracks Russian state TV.
Above, a photograph shows buildings damaged in the Ukraine war in Kharkiv on February 13, 2023, alongside an inset of Russian President Vladimir Putin. A member of the Russian state Duma said during a recent appearance on State TV that it’s time for political and military leaders to “admit” the real reason for the invasion of Ukraine. SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images"We should shut down the topic of Ukraine for good and admit that denazification and demilitarization will shut down Ukraine as a project once and for all," he said. "It once existed, but it is no more."
He continued to assert that "there is no Ukraine" and that the country is actually a territory of Russia. He described retaking control of Ukraine as "the most important thing to accomplish today."
For decades Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union but declared its independence in 1991. Ukraine, alongside other former Soviet states, has since been recognized as an independent nation, with the USSR dissolving just months later.
In the years since, however, Russia has claimed parts of Ukraine as its own. In 2014, Putin ordered a military invasion of Crimea, a region along the Black Sea that ended Russia annexing the peninsula, though Ukraine still views it as its own and has expressed interest in retaking control of it before the war ends.
During the more recent invasion, Putin also claimed to have annexed several southeastern regions of Ukraine, including the Donbas, following elections widely dismissed by shams by the West. Most nations still recognize these territories as belonging to Ukraine.
Despite only claiming interest in the Donbas, Russian troops were initially sent into other parts of Ukraine, including areas near the capital city of Kyiv, whose suburbs were subject to alleged human rights abuses by Putin's troops.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Russian General Found Dead Weeks After Being Fired By Putin
© Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to watch the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9, 2022.A former high-ranking Russian military official was found dead Monday weeks after being relieved of his duties.
Law enforcement officials reportedly told Russian state media outlet TASS that Major General Vladimir Makarov, former deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for Combating Extremism, took his own life.
Russian journalist Cheka-OGPU wrote on Telegram that Makarov formerly organized the "hunt" for oppositionists and journalists, adding that the body of the 72-year-old Makarov was discovered in a country house in the village of Golikovo, near Moscow, by his wife, Valentina.
Moscow-based media outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets reported it was known that firearms were kept in the home.
Independent Russian news outlet SOTA reported that following his dismal, Makarov fell into a depression. His family said he "didn't know what to do."
The former general lost his job in January.
Latvian-based news outlet Meduza reported that the Center for Combating Extremism, also known as "Center E," was formed in 2008 to suppress political protest in Russia.
It reported in 2019 how officers dressed in civilian clothing film mass protesters and "quietly guide police toward individual protesters," leading them to their arrests. The same individuals reportedly work behind the scenes to bring criminal cases against Russian citizens who share allegedly extremist posts on social media.
"Their main goal is to wheedle out the most active ones, the ring leaders, the rule-breakers," said former Center E employee Vladimir Vorontsov. "Maybe even provocateurs. AEC officers also have to be able to recognize political figures. We all see how as soon as some celebrity steps outside, they get arrested right away just because it's them."
Suspicious deaths linked to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin have long been rumored, notably since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Former head of the Moscow Aviation Institute, Anatoly Gerashchenko, died last year after falling down "several flights of stairs."
Other deaths have included Russian scientists, oligarchs, oil magnates, business tycoons, energy managers, and high-ranking officials inside Russian banks.
Darya Dugin, daughter of Putin ally Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bombing in the summer.
In September, 39-year-old energy executive Ivan Pechorin reportedly fell off a boat at full speed and died about 5,800 miles east of Moscow.
Jailed Russian opposition leader and longtime Putin critic Alexei Navalny was held in solitary confinement as recently as New Year's Eve.
Andrey Gurulyov, Russian parliament member and former military commander, said last month on Russian state TV that if Russian officials wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dead, they could have easily made it happen.
Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.
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Five Russian Men Fleeing Military Conscription Have Been Living At A South Korean Airport For Months
Seoul, South Korea CNN —
Five Russian men who fled the country after Moscow’s military mobilization order last September have been stranded at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport for months after authorities refused to accept them.
Three of the men had arrived in October, with the remaining two in November, said their lawyer Lee Jong-chan.
Lee said that their applications for refugee status were denied by the South Korean Justice Ministry – leaving them stranded at the departure area for months while awaiting a ruling on their appeal. “They are provided with one meal a day, which is lunch,” Lee told CNN. “But for the rest of the day they live off bread and drinks.”
The men are able to shower but have to wash their clothes by hand and are unable to leave the departure and duty-free areas, he added.
“They have limited access to medical care (and) no support for their mental health which is important considering their precarious situation,” he said.
The “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens to fight in the country’s war on Ukraine generated angry protests and prompted a mass exodus when it was announced last September. Many scrambled across land border crossings or bought air tickets out of the country.
Collective data showed that more than 200,000 people fled Russia for Georgia, Kazakhstan and the European Union in the first week after mobilizations were announced.
“I don’t support what’s going on so I just decided that I had to leave right away,” one man who left for Belarus previously told CNN.“It feels bad because a lot of my friends, a lot of people don’t support the war and they feel threatened by what is going on, and there is no democratic way to really stop this, to even declare your protest,” the man had said.
Men up to the age of 60 with no criminal record are eligible for military conscription. Prior military experience is not always required.
Soldiers who refuse to fight and return to the front line are reportedly held in basements in occupied Ukrainian territory and face charges of desertion, according to their families.
Only those convicted of sex crimes against minors, treason, spying or terrorism are exempted from conscription.
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Russian teen faces years in jail over social media post criticizing Ukrainian war
South Korea’s Ministry of Justice has dismissed the men’s applications as “not being worthy of evaluation” – on the grounds that refusal of conscription was not a reason for refugee recognition, according to their lawyer Lee.
Their refusal to serve in the Russian military “should be recognized as a political reason” considering that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “condemned by international law,” Lee said.
Rights groups have called on the South Korean government to accept the men as refugees.
“Those who apply for refugee status upon escaping political and religious persecution from their home countries have rights to protection under international law,” read a statement from a South Korean rights advocacy group. It was highly likely that the men would be “detained or forcibly drafted” if they returned home, the group added.
“They are political refugees who face persecution.”
The men have appealed the decision and three of them are set to face their first ruling on January 31 – during which a court will decide if their case is “worthy of evaluation,” Lee their lawyer said.
If the court rules in their favor, the Justice Ministry will then have to review the men’s applications for refugee status.
Military conscription is a sensitive issue in South Korea, where military service is mandatory for all able bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35.
Not even the country’s athletes or K-pop superstars are exempted from military service. Conscientious objection, which was illegal for decades, was not allowed until a landmark ruling in 2018. However, religious groups have continued to voice concerns about forms of “alternative service” that involve working in correctional facilities for three years.
