At least 150,000 military personnel invaded Ukraine, thus supporting the war with their actions. It is them, not Putin, who personally drop bombs on peaceful cities, blow up shelters with women and children, capture ordinary Ukrainians, capture nuclear power plants and take their employees hostages, shoot during protests, rape, and loot.
Countless evidence — from videos to phone calls — testifies to their awareness of the decision to destroy Ukrainians as a nation in any way. Nothing stops them. At the same time, their wives complain about closed Instagram and the lack of sugar, while mothers — for depreciation of the ruble and lack of access to the benefits of civilization. Now, the citizens of the occupying country are indignant because of the sanctions and say that “ordinary people have nothing to do with it.”
Why is this not the case, was explained in the official statement of Transparency International Ukraine, an accredited representative of the global Transparency International movement.
vladimir putin, as the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the russian federation, makes key decisions on military action. However, any of his orders are carried out by the military. They are the ones breaking into Ukrainian cities on tanks, shooting people, flying in fighter jets, and pressing the button to bomb.
Thus, in early March, the occupiers dropped a bomb on a hospital, a maternity hospital, and the Drama Theater in Mariupol, where about 300 people died under the debris. In Irpin, the russian military shot dead US journalist Brent Renaud, The Insider’s Oksana Baulina was killed in the shelling in Kyiv, and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova were killed by russian artillery in Kyiv. In the village of Peremoha, the occupiers shot a column of women and children, and in Chernihiv, they shot at least 10 people standing in line for bread.
And these are not isolated examples of atrocities. Other war crimes committed by the russian military include the capture of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, prevention of access to humanitarian aid, and torture of Ukrainian prisoners. As of March 28, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office recorded 3,085 crimes of aggression.
In addition to the military leadership, russian politicians openly support the war. And it’s not just about the representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation. Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin believes that the “military special operation” is aimed at protecting the peace and salvation of Ukrainians, MPs and other officials are also taking the side of aggression, and 620 employees of the FSB of Russia are now involved in the criminal activities of the russian federation on the territory of Europe.
Many public persons express their position in favor of the armed aggression of the russian federation on social networks, such as singer Mykola Baskov in an Instagram post. Recently, a concert in honor of the annexation of Crimea has been held in Moscow, attended by more than 200,000 russians! They joyfully welcomed putin and the guests of the event. It was there that the figure skater Yevhen Pliushenko assured that he believed in the victory of the russian troops. For a detailed list of people who support the war, read here.
Moreover, non-public persons openly show their position in favor of hostilities. Students initiate actions, drivers arrange car races, and the Russian church backs war. Data from sociological surveys indicate that approximately 71% of russians support the war. And it’s really shocking. After all, in response to the war in Ukraine, many countries introduced sanctions, prohibiting the supply of goods and products to russia. Such restrictions were supposed to make russians think about what their authorities were doing. Instead, world isolation does not encourage people to protest against armed aggression.
We are convinced that russians are collectively responsible for not opposing the war or their deeds and words supporting war crimes. This principle is not enshrined in the Constitution, but it is secretly professed by everyone because any power comes from the people.
Remember the feeling when your national team won the World Cup. Team: 11 football players represent the whole country at an international competition, and their success is automatically identified with the victory of the entire nation. The same is happening during the war. Only now almost none of the russians say: indeed, I am to blame for this, when I voted for putin, believed in propaganda, called for the war to continue, or simply remained silent.
An average russian citizen can be outraged because he does not shoot at Ukrainians and cannot stop anything. But he calls the victims of the war actors, tells us that we deserve this, uses children in kindergarten to spell Z.
Moreover, mothers and wives allow their husbands to go to war and remain silent about crimes against humanity while in russia or abroad. What prevents them from reading the positions of both sides of the war, telling the acquaintances facts, not fakes? Even such simple things can change the outlook.