Leonid Vasyukevich, a local MP from the Communist Party, addressed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the Primorsky region parliament assembly. He demanded that Putin stop the war in Ukraine, according to a video published by Newsbox24.tv on Telegram.
“If we don’t stop the military operation, there will be more orphans in our country. People who could have been of great use to our country get killed or injured in this military operation,” he said. His address was supported by fellow MPs Natalya Kochugova, Aleksandr Sustov and Gennady Shulga.
Chairman of the regional parliament Aleksandr Rolik was trying to interrupt Vasyukevich, but Shulga stood up for him. Oleg Kozhemyako, the local governor, was also present at the assembly. He demanded that Vasyukevich and Shulga be evicted from the hall.
“Such actions discredit the Russian army which fights bravely against nazism. Vasyukevich is a traitor,” he said.
Alexey Kozitsky, another MP, suggested that Vasyukevich and Shulga be deprived of their vote. 25 MPs favoured the decision, five were against and three more abstained. The Primorsky region parliament consists of 40 MPs total.
Boris Bondarev, a diplomat posted to Russia's mission to the United Nations in Geneva, condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 23 May, criticised the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and resigned from his position.
"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,” he said. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: “Bondarev is not with us anymore, in fact, he’s more like against us at this point.”