If it depends on the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, then the Russian army must withdraw from Ukraine, the Ukrainian borders of 1991, including Crimea, must be recognized and an independent investigation into war crimes must be launched.
“A final defeat can still be postponed, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives,” Navalny said in a message posted by his team on various social media on Monday.
“To continue the war is mere hysterical impotence, to end it is a strong step,” it continues, a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Crimea
In the past, Ukraine’s Navalny has been criticized for not clearly condemning Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The opposition leader denounces Vladimir Putin on Twitter and the “unjust war of aggression he has unleashed under ridiculous pretexts”. The “real reasons” for that war, as far as Navalny is concerned, are simple: Russia’s political and economic problems, Putin’s desire to stay in power at any cost, and his “obsession with his own historical legacy.”
But the combination of “aggressive warfare, corruption, unsuitable generals, weak economy, lack of heroism and high motivation of the defenders” can only lead to Russian defeat, Navalny said.
Parliamentary republic
After the war, the Russians must compensate Ukraine, and that can only be done with a change of power in Moscow. The Putin regime and its dictatorship must be abolished and a parliamentary republic must be established, Navalny said. Russia must become part of Europe and embark on the European path of development. “We have no choice, and we need no choice.”
Navalny has been locked up in a penal camp for two years now. Outside Russia he is considered a political prisoner.
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