Sept 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a television interview on Tuesday, without citing evidence, that Western powers had installed Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage,

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a television interview on Tuesday, without citing evidence, that Western powers had installed Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage, as president of Ukraine to cover up the glorification of Nazism.

In justifying its invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation,” Russia accuses Kyiv’s leaders of being neo-Nazis pursuing a “genocide” of Russian-speakers - an assertion that Kyiv and Western countries dismiss as a baseless pretext for a war of acquisition.

Putin was answering a question from Russian reporter Pavel Zaubin and his comments were shown on Russian state TV.

Zelenskiy, who has said that some of his grandfather’s brothers were killed in the Holocaust, has repeatedly dismissed as false Russian accusations that he has supported neo-Nazis in Ukraine. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey Editing by Alex Richardson)

TASS source (Russian media) : https://tass.com/politics/1670265

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  • SemEnglish
    954·
    10 months ago

    As a russian I can say that Putin is definitely crazy. He always was crazy a littlw due to his KGB past, you know, some tendency to overestimate impact of special servies and conspiracy. But I guess that the last drop was a covid pandemic when he sitted alone in bunker for a year in a total isolation. He totally out of mind. I do not think that one should seriously look at his speeches. Also, as a native russian speaker I watched a video interview and can proove that the translation is cirrect. He really said it…

    • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
      31·
      10 months ago

      I hope you guys can find a way to get a better national government soon.

      • SemEnglish
        21·
        10 months ago

        Thank you. I hope too. But now it is not safe to be being in Russia and trying to get better government… So, for myself I just decided to leave the country. I’m not ready to risk my safety and safety of my family trying to protest against Putin. One can say that I’m a coward, but for me it change nothing: I prefer to be a healthy free coward instead of tortured hero in prison. To be honest, my only hope is that he die soon, there are a lot of rumors about his health problem, some cancer.

      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
        141·
        10 months ago

        You know what they say about Russian history… “And then it got worse”

        • ours@lemmy.filmEnglish
          9·
          10 months ago

          Next in line is whatever treacherous bastard that manages to wrangle power for himself.

          The only thing worse than a bastard like Putin is a smart and competent bastard.

          But still, I somehow hope Russia manages to find a path toward a competent and stable democracy somehow.

      • SemEnglish
        8·
        9 months ago

        I left the country after the war. So, for me it changed significantly… But I’m a wrong person to ask how is it now. In my understanding it is bad.