Yulia Navalnaya is the most prominent critic of the Russian regime abroad. However, comments about the war in Ukraine have now drawn criticism from her.
Simon Craven/t-online
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Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition figure and dissident Alexei Navalny, has been heavily criticized for her comments on the war in Ukraine.
Julia Navalnaya's comments about Ukraine have drawn criticism.Image: trapezoid
In an interview published by Die Zeit on Thursday, she expressed doubts about the possible success of Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region on the Russian border. “There are two sides to this,” she said. On the one hand, Ukrainians will see the invasion as a sign of weakness from Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. On the other hand, the Russian people would be outraged:
“It brings people together, which is good for advocacy.”
Were the weapons delivered correctly? “It’s hard to tell”
Asked whether supplying weapons to Ukraine was the right thing to do, Navalnaya replied:
“It's hard to say.”
Even though Putin ordered the war, the bombs dropped will also hit Russians. She demanded that all Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine.
Navalnaya also refused to blame the Russian people for the war of aggression. “Of course,” ordinary Russians also fight in Ukraine, “but it’s his war,” the 48-year-old said, referring to Putin. She doesn't believe polls showing that about three-quarters of Russians support the war.
Navalnaya condemned Russia's war crimes in Ukraine as “horrible” but downplayed them:
“There are criminals in every country.”
Although some volunteered to fight, many prisoners were convicted of murder. In fact, Russia began recruiting soldiers in prisons as early as the war began. Ukraine has also been doing this since May last year, but has prevented serious criminals from participating voluntarily. According to Ukrainian authorities, some 3,800 prisoners had reported for service in the Ukrainian army as of the end of July.
“Russian Empire Claims Lawyer”
Navalnaya's comments in the Time interview sparked some outrage. Historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk judged the interview as showing that Russian opposition figures had “little reason to be hopeful.”
German CDU defense politician Roderich Kiesewetter explains this
“This is not just Putin’s war, it’s obviously Russia’s war.”
Kisevet also told Bild: “She clearly does not understand Ukraine's legitimate right to self-defense, which clearly contributes to and supports Ukraine's military offensive on Russian territory.”
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