Russian citizens, Russian friends.
In these dark days of war, you are all innocent victims of Vladimir Putin’s concealments and lies. Your own president has made it criminal for the media merely to talk of an invasion of Ukraine, even though this, of course, is the truth. Putin describes the government of Ukraine as neo-Nazis, even though this, of course, is a lie. He has made sure that the truth to you may sound as a lie.
Hence this informative appeal from a free and independent newspaper in Denmark to the citizens of Russia. Speaking as friends to friends, we lament that Europe has once again been hit by a devastating war. That all of us have been hit by war. In war, all are losers, even the winner. You know this, we know this. We all know that the people of Russia are not our enemy. Your president is.
We will never forget the huge sacrifices and the efforts made by the Soviet people to win World War II. Without your heroic contribution, this world would have been entirely different today – a much darker world. Together, you and we conquered a mad dictator who set out to create a world in his own cruel image.
Now, Europe has once again been hit by war, this time caused by your own leader who with his invasion of Ukraine has plunged into a bloody war with no justification whatsoever.
With lies and deceptions he has tried to depict the invasion as a defence of Russia and its traditional values. The truth is the opposite: Ukraine is not committing genocide, neither against Russians nor Ukrainians. The Ukrainian government are not Nazis; on the contrary, they are freely elected democrats. And no matter how much President Putin claims so, neither the West nor NATO harbour any wish for attacking Russia.
The sanctions which are now isolating and impoverishing Russia will make life more difficult for you. The aim is not to target Russians, but to help Ukraine and its people. For long, the West already proffered its hand towards East, including Russia. This has not changed.
We say no to Putin’s bloody aggression. We say yes to Russia and the people who do not deserve Putin and his murderous and despotic autocracy. And as a Danish newspaper, we first and foremost say yes to real and honest information about the abominable war which your president has thrown Ukraine and the rest of Europe into.
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