Russian opposition leader Alexei Navanly lambasts Putin’s ‘stupid war’ in Ukraine
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny criticized the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “stupid” offensive that Russia was losing
Speaking during an appeal in a Moscow court to overturn a nine-year prison sentence, Navalny continuously broke through the judge’s interruptions to state, “this is a stupid war which your Putin started. This war was built on lies. One madman has got his claws into Ukraine and I do not know what he wants to do with it — this crazy thief.”
The Moscow City Court rejected his appeal.
Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud charges in March, adding to a 2 ½ year sentence he was given last year for breaking parole.
“What do you want to achieve? Do you want short-term control, to fight with future generations, to fight for the future of Russia?” Navalny said, according to Reuters. “You will all suffer historic defeat.”
Since being jailed last year, Navalny has been held in a hail at Pokrov, east of Moscow. He will now be transferred to a far stricter penal colony with severely limited rights. He is reportedly to be moved to a facility in Melekhovo, which has been accused of subjecting its inmates to “systematic torture”.
Navalny has long been seen as Putin’s most vocal critic. He was arrested last year the moment he arrived in Russia from Germany, where he was receiving treatment for a near-fatal nerve agent attack in Siberia in August 2020.