Russian diplomat quits over Ukraine war

GENEVA: A Russian diplomat in Geneva has left his job in protest at the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, telling diplomatic colleagues: "Never have I been so ashamed of my country."

Boris Bondarev, a counsellor at Moscow’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva, wrote in a letter that he was leaving after 20 years in the diplomatic service, decrying Russia’s invasion of its Western neighbour.

In the letter, circulated to a number of diplomatic missions in Geneva and seen by AFP, he condemned "the aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine and in fact against the entire Western world". This, he said, was "not only a crime against the Ukrainian people but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia".

He said the letter "Z" -- which has been daubed on Russian tanks and vehicles in Ukraine and has come to symbolise support for the war -- was "crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country".