2023-05-08 15:11:00
Russian oligarch Andrey Kovalev criticized Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences for Russia.
In a video shared by Kovalev on his Telegram channel on Monday, the businessman said he was initially confident that Russian troops would break through Ukraine’s defenses and capture Kyiv quickly, in two to three weeks. He was surprised that he wasn’t like that.
Kovalev pointed to the heavy losses suffered by Russia since it invaded Ukraine, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from the positions they reached at the beginning of the war, the humiliating sinking of the Russian warship Moskva last April, the explosion of the bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland and the recent alleged drone attack on the Kremlin.
“This is not a special military operation, this is a terrible war,” Kovalev said during a live broadcast for the All-Russian Movement of Entrepreneurs.
“The whole world is once morest us. One hundred and twenty-two countries voted to recognize us as aggressors,” he added, referring to a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly last month. The resolution, which called the war once morest Ukraine “aggression by the Russian Federation”, received 122 votes, including those of China and India, two countries that have avoided condemning the large-scale invasion of Moscow.
In another pre-recorded video posted on his Telegram channel, Kovalev toned down his tone a bit, suggesting that President Vladimir Putin should “call on the service of sovereign entrepreneurs” to help “ensure victory in the war.”
Andrey Kovalev is a Russian real estate businessman, public figure, and Chairman of the All-Russian Movement of Entrepreneurs. According to his biography on the movement’s website, he previously held government posts and was a member of the Moscow Duma. In 2012, Kovalev was included in the “Russian Real Estate King List” by Forbes Russia, with a revenue of US$55 million.
Do critics increase? In Russia there is little room for dissenting voices. Putin’s tight grip on the Russian news space prevents many citizens from accessing accurate reports on the invasion of Ukraine. Those who try to speak out face long prison terms, or worse.
But there are signs of growing dismay among some Russians at how the faltering invasion has panned out. Kovalev’s words echo those of famed Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva, who in September called for an end to Russian soldiers “dying for illusory goals that make our country a pariah.”
Kovalev’s criticism comes on the eve of Moscow’s Victory Day Parade, an event held annually on May 9 to commemorate the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender in 1945, and which in recent years has become used to flaunt Russia’s military might.
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