Russian diplomat quits over war in Ukraine

A Russian diplomat has quit his job in protest at the "bloody, witless" war "unleashed by Putin against Ukraine".

Boris Bondarev, whose LinkedIn says he worked at the Russian mission to the UN in Geneva, told the BBC he knew his decision to speak out may mean the Kremlin now considers him a traitor.

But he stood by his statement which described the war as "a crime against the Ukrainian people" and "the people of Russia".

Moscow has not yet commented.

Russia has cracked down on those who are critical of or veer from the official narrative surrounding the war, which it refers to only as "a special military operation".

In the letter posted on social media and shared with fellow diplomats, Mr Bondarev explained he had chosen to end his 20-year career in the service because he could no "longer share in this bloody, witless and absolutely needless ignominy".

"Those who conceived of this war want only one thing - to stay in power forever," he wrote.

"To achieve that, they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes," he continued. "Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this."

The letter does not hold back over his former employer either, accusing Russia's Foreign Ministry of being more interested in "lies and hatred" than diplomacy.