"Anti-war march" by Russian “opposition” part of infighting over Germany’s attention, funding – Ambassador
Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeiev, along with Ukrainian activists, criticized the "anti-war march" organized by the Russian opposition, scheduled to be held in Berlin on November 17.
This was reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.
In an op-ed for Zeit, the Ukrainian envoy wrote: "There are many indications that the march organized by Yulia Navalnaya, Ilya Yashin, and Vladimir Kara-Murza will be a November walk without dignity and consequences. A PR campaign, whose target group is not the Russian population, but the German mass media and politicians."
Makeiev is convinced that the rally is evidence of the struggle for Germany's attention and funding. Russian opposition figures are hiding behind the convenient term "Putin's war", without talking about collective accountability, while this is Russia's war against Ukraine, the diplomat said.
"I don't care how the Russians deal with their crimes after our victory. But I know that the path to national reassessment does not begin with the relativization of the national war of aggression," Makeiev wrote.
Berlin-based non-profit Vitsche also criticized the upcoming action. "...Don't shift responsibility only onto Putin. Organizers focus their rhetoric on portraying Vladimir Putin as the one solely responsible for Russia's war of aggression. Such an attitude ignores deep-rooted problems in Russian society and misses the essence of a democratic, oppositional approach. True accountability implies challenging not just one person, but the social structures and collective attitudes that made this war possible," the activists said.
In their opinion, the announced rally contains no clear message regarding fundamental issues, such as support for Ukraine or a critical assessment of Russian society. In recent weeks, Yulia Navalnaya has repeatedly condemned the war, labeling it "Putin's war" and criticizing the supply of weapons to Ukraine, while Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza emphasized the negative impact of sanctions on the Russian population, Vitsche recalled.
"All these speeches and statements in no way contribute to Ukraine winning the war. On the contrary, this attitude undermines the necessary analysis of Russia's role and reinforces the narrative that Putin alone is responsible, while the general public and the opposition are absolved of any responsibility. In the long run, this hinders the possibility of real changes and movement towards democratic values," said the head of the organization, Iryna Shulikina.
As reported, Russian exiled politicians Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Yulia Navalnaya intend to hold a demonstration in Berlin against the war their country is waging against Ukraine.
The declared goals of the action include the demand for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the conviction of Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, and the release of all political prisoners in Russia; uniting global democratic voices, supporting Ukraine, demanding justice and strengthening the vision of a democratic future for Russia.
Earlier in Portugal, the participants of one of the largest events of the global web industry, Web Summit, interrupted the speech of the widow of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny by playing a recording of an air raid alert.