Boris Johnson has issued a direct appeal to the Russian people to reject President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, which he called a “stain” on their country’s honour. In a video message posted online, the Prime Minister urged Russians to download VPNs to enable them to circumvent the Kremlin’s media controls and see for themselves the atrocities being committed in their name.
His intervention came after President Volodymyr Zelensky used a dramatic address to the United Nations Security to accuse the Russians of the “most terrible war crimes” since the Second World War. The Ukrainian leader called for the creation of a special tribunal along the lines of the Nuremberg tribunals used to try leading Nazis to bring those responsible to justice.
The Kremlin responded by claiming images of civilians said to have been killed by Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha were “fake news” having been staged by the Ukrainians themselves. However, the UK Ministry of Defence said analysis of satellite imagery from March 21 – when the town was still occupied by the Russians – showed at least eight bodies lying in a street.
