Russian Diplomat: 'They Basically Got Everything Wrong'

Monday, May 23, 2022

Boris Bondarev says President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could have spent the last two decades "developing the country" but instead turned it "into some kind of total horror, a threat to the world." Mr. Bondarev would know: He spent his career promoting Mr. Putin's foreign policy.

Posted by lamplighter at 06:33 PM | 16 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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..."Those who conceived this war want only one thing -- to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity," Mr. Bondarev said in an email to colleagues on Monday morning. "To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes."

In a phone interview from Geneva, Mr. Bondarev said that responsibility for the war goes beyond Mr. Putin and includes the Russian Foreign Ministry, where he said he had worked for 20 years. Russian diplomats, he said, were complicit in making it seem like Mr. Putin could achieve an easy victory in Ukraine.

"They got Ukraine wrong, they got the West wrong, they basically got everything wrong," Mr. Bondarev said, referring to the Kremlin's view of the world before the invasion.

"We diplomats of the Foreign Ministry are also at fault for this, for not passing along the information that we should have -- for smoothing it out and presenting it as though everything was great."...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2022-05-23 02:33 PM | Reply

In a rare public protest by a Russian official, Boris Bondarev, a diplomat posted to Russia's mission to the United Nations in Geneva, posted a statement on a LinkedIn account condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and criticizing the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for complicity in what he described as an an "aggressive war" " language that is proscribed in Russia under wartime censorship laws.

"For twenty 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 February 24 of this year," Bondarev wrote, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. "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, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country."

#2 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2022-05-23 02:37 PM | Reply

www.cnn.com

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2022-05-23 02:38 PM | Reply

I think Mr. Bondarev should start thinking about resigning his position and defecting.

#4 | Posted by Twinpac at 2022-05-23 06:55 PM | Reply

"Nuh-Uh! He's obviously a Nazi!" - you know who

Mr. Bondarev should become Ms. Bondarev and start living in a van out West.

#5 | Posted by Corky at 2022-05-23 07:29 PM | Reply

"I think Mr. Bondarev should start thinking about resigning his position"

That already happened.

#6 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2022-05-23 08:36 PM | Reply

LEGALLY

Yes, I know. I finally caught up with the news. Now I wonder if he'll stay in Switzerland or risk returning to Russia under these circumstances. I know what I'd do.

#7 | Posted by Twinpac at 2022-05-24 05:49 AM | Reply

Yep they did make about every mistake possible.
And I LUV it! I love watching a former (and truly evil
under Putin) former Super Power degrade further
along the road to being a largely inconsequential
has been nation (with nukes of course)

Putin has gotten his ---------- whipped, no doubt
about it...

#8 | Posted by earthmuse at 2022-05-24 06:32 AM | Reply

Savvy genius, that Vlad. I'll wager he can get a weekend rate at Mar a Lago even in the high season, with a meet and greet with Eric Trump at the tennis club ...

#9 | Posted by catdog at 2022-05-24 09:09 AM | Reply | Funny: 1

#8 Maybe he did get whipped but he has killed a lot of people doing it. That's nothing to be happy about.

#10 | Posted by SomebodyElse at 2022-05-24 11:21 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

true that Somebody...
but war kills people.
inevitable.

not happy at all about that.
just Vlad suffering...

hopefully someone in Russia
steps up and steps in, and
ends this thing...

#11 | Posted by earthmuse at 2022-05-24 11:59 AM | Reply

You're ------- delusional. Russia has a stable regime. Even if Putin steps down he will be replaced by someone who continues his policies. As for the war..... It's not over yet.

#12 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2022-05-24 01:08 PM | Reply | Funny: 2

More than anything, this elective war against the peaceful Ukrainian people has really shed a harsh light on American right wing obsequiousness to Vladimir Putin, and the GOP's joy at deferring to totalitarian leaders. Especially if they are White.

#13 | Posted by moder8 at 2022-05-24 01:10 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Peaceful? They had been shelling the Donbass for eight years.

The shelling got more intense leading up to the invasion.

The Minsk accords were ignored and the civil rights of the eastern provinces were repeatedly violated.

They have been persecuting Russian speakers for years. But they are just So Peaceful.

They got bold because they thought the US and NATO had their backs.

Wrong.

Now they are getting schooled,about US false promises.

The money we're sending them is partially guilt about shining them on and using them.

Or not.

#14 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2022-05-24 04:24 PM | Reply

Putin lovers need to pay, and dearly.

#15 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2022-05-24 10:34 PM | Reply

Putin lovers need to pay, and dearly.

#16 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2022-05-24 10:34 PM | Reply