Opposition slams Russian barbarism in Ukraine

Group of Russian dissidents met in Lithuania. Expresses concern over the 'weariness' towards the war shown by the Europeans and the US. Western aid the only key to allow the Ukrainians victory. Putin waits for the right moment to strike.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The third "anti-war conference" in Ukraine organised by Russian opposition politicians, who are in emigration-exile outside their homeland, was held in Vilnius in recent days: an initiative mainly animated by former world chess champion Garri Kasparov. Many of those who could not travel to Lithuania nevertheless participated online.

Evgenij Čičvarkin, a restaurant entrepreneur and founder of the 'Pravoe delo' (Right Action) party, who emigrated to England as early as 2010, intervened, saying that 'the whole world, apart from Russia and a few brain-frozen friends of Russia, considers the war in Ukraine to be a genocide, and unfortunately it seems that we have not yet reached the end of this senseless invasion'.

Like other members of the opposition in exile, he views the events with great pessimism, while trusting in the fortitude of the Ukrainians and the support of the Western allies, expressing his dismay at the number of victims: 'More than 100,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Russians have lost their lives in a year, the blood doesn't even want to flow in my veins any more'.

As repeated by several participants, 'it is an absurd war, whose reasons even Putin does not know', and if Iranian drones go into mass industrial production, the tragedy could take on truly unprecedented dimensions. 'It is clear that it matters who wins, but it matters above all how many people will still have to suffer,' Čičvarkin reiterates.

Another member of the Liberals, former Moscow Duma deputy Natalia Šavšukova, nevertheless believes that Ukraine will win the war, despite the numerical difference in the forces on the field, because 'it is stronger morally, even if they have now had to stop because of the contradictions of the Western allies, who do not know whether to continue supporting the Ukrainians to the end'.

The fear is that the subject of Ukrainian resistance will become less and less exciting: 'Ukraine is disappearing from the front pages of western newspapers, we have got used to this war', and the task of the Russian opposition abroad is precisely to keep sensitivity on this issue high.

Natalia urges us not to always slip into the political rhetoric of experts and observers, sitting on the couch: 'Today is like 1943, you have to believe in the victory of good over evil'. The Russian opponent says that all solidarity must also be shown to the courageous people protesting against the war in Russia and those in other countries, because 'we are all responsible for what is happening... it is a war, not the championship of the world'.

An exponent of the 'libertarians' party, Mikhail Svetov, who emigrated to Brazil, confirms that 'the war has now become routine... of course, formally Western solidarity is preserved, but Putin is counting on the tendency towards indifference'.

According to Svetov, this is how the repression of Russian opposition demonstrations has been conducted since 2011, waiting for the ardour of the young navalnists and anti-corruption youths who gathered in Bolotnaya Square and the circle of gardens in the centre of Moscow to fade.

Now the withdrawal of support from Europe and the US is expected. Putin is waiting for the moment to topple all the Iranian drones over Ukraine, and waiting for the right moment is "the secret of the Russian president's political longevity, when he can storm all his enemies," Svetov recalls.

Čičvarkin assures that 'the Ukrainians have no intention of surrendering, no matter how many cities and infrastructure Putin intends to destroy'. Recalling the Russian president's passion for judo, he knows that he 'wants to take everyone by the horns and keep them in his grasp, where 20 seconds of holding is enough to win'.

The leader of the 'anti-war' oppositions, Kasparov, on the other hand, trusts in the assistance of the US, which will give the Ukrainians the necessary weapons to resist and strike Russian missile bases, even on Russia's own territory.

He hopes that this will not eventually provoke the much-feared outcome of the atomic bombs, the moment Putin realises he is alone against the whole world. According to opponents in exile, the Russians' final bomb would end up in Warsaw, the true great historical enemy.

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• ukraine
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• lithuania
• garry kasparov