“Hate speech directed against Ukrainians is not part of the defense of the Russian Federation or its citizens. It is an element of the crimes that Russian citizens are committing on Ukrainian territory”
American historian Timothy Snyder addressed the United Nations Security Council on Russian hate speech.
“If you stand in Russia with a sign saying ‘no to war,’ you will be arrested and very likely imprisoned. If you stand in Ukraine with a sign that says ‘no to war,’ regardless of what language it is in, nothing will happen to you. Russia is a country of one major language where you can say little. Ukraine is a country of two languages where you may say what you like,” stated Snyder.
He also noted that the rhetoric that Ukrainians are somehow ‘Russophobes’ is being used by the Russian state to justify a war of aggression. “Hate speech directed against Ukrainians is not part of the defense of the Russian Federation or its citizens. It is an element of the crimes that Russian citizens are committing on Ukrainian territory. In this sense, in calling this session, the Russian state has found a new way to confess to war crimes,” added the historian.
