As thousands of anti-war protestors are gathering across Russian cities following the invasion of their neighboring country, Russian state TV personalities are publicly condemning the invasion of Ukraine despite the risk of being targeted by Vladimir Putin.
Authorities in Russia have threatened to jail those who criticize the invasion for up to 15 years and will be declared as traitors.
However, during a program hosted by Putin supporter Vladimir Soloviyev on Russia 1 channel, several guests openly criticized the attack on Ukraine with one saying it was like “Afghanistan but even worse,” according to The Daily Beast.
The use of Afghanistan as an example is significant in Russia as it is seen as a military humiliation – with the country having spent 10 years in the country before withdrawing in 1989.
Karen Shakhbnazarov, a filmmaker and political commentator, took a dig at Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine paints a frightening picture, it has a very oppressive influence on our society. Ukraine, whichever way you see it, is somewhere with which Russia has thousands of human links,” he said, according to The Daily Beast.
Soloviyev was left fuming as other guests also questioned what the Russians were doing in Ukraine.
