A woman on a bus in Russia was attacked by Putin supporters after she said Russia’s empire was “propped up on stools”. In a video circulating on social media, the pensioner can be seen being brutally thrown off the bus by fellow passengers.
She was attacked after she said: “This is our empire! Empire? An empire propped up on stools.”
As another passenger accused her of being pro-Ukraine, she replied: “‘I’ve been there only twice in my life when I was young…
“I don’t know anyone there…”
But as she claimed the Russian army is corrupt and is leaving men fighting in rubber boots, a male passenger approached her and dragged her from her seat.
No one else intervened to help her as she was pushed to the floor and eventually off the bus.
A report described the incident: “In Moscow region, a pensioner who doubted the ‘greatness of Russia’ was dragged out of a bus by force.
“It is clear that no one stood up for her.
“This is the whole country is in miniature.”
It comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday warned that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demand for “demilitarisation” and “denazification,” as well as the removal of the military threat to Russia, otherwise “the Russian army (will) solve the issue.”
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Sergey Lavrov also accused the West of fuelling the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia, and said that it depends on Kyiv and Washington how long the conflict, which started on February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine, will last.
“As for the duration of the conflict, the ball is on the side of the (Kyiv) regime and Washington that stands behind its back,” Lavrov told the state Tass news agency. “They may stop senseless resistance at any moment.”
In an apparent reaction, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that “Russia needs to face the reality.”
“Neither total mobilisation, nor panicky search for ammo, nor secret contracts with Iran, nor Lavrov’s threats will help,” he said. “Ukraine will demilitarise the RF (Russian Federation) to the end, oust the invaders from all occupied territories. Wait for the finale silently…”
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On Monday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Associated Press in an interview that his government wants a summit to end the war but that he doesn’t anticipate Russia taking part.
Kuleba said Ukraine wants a “peace” summit within two months with UN Secretary-General António Guterres acting as mediator. But he also said that Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before before his country directly talks with Moscow.
Both statements illustrate how complex and difficult any attempts to end the war could be. Ukraine has said in the past that it wouldn’t negotiate with Russia before the full withdrawal of its troops, while Moscow insists its military gains and the 2014 annexation of the Crimea Peninsula cannot be ignored.
