Austrian-American actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the “senseless” war in Ukraine, in a video in which he denounced the Kremlin's “propaganda” and called Russians protesting against the conflict “heroes”.
“Ukraine did not start this war,” said the star of “Terminator” and former governor of California, in an emotional message subtitled in Russian and English, addressed to the people of Russia and Russian troops.
“I am talking to you today because things are happening in the world that are hidden from them, terrible things that you need to know,” he said.
The nine-minute video was shared on Schwarzenegger's Twitter account, which has 4.9 million followers. At the time of publication, among those followers was the official account of the Russian president, @KremlinRussia_E.
The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, retweeted Schwarzenegger's message, which went viral.
“Not only are we witnessing a brutal and violent Kremlin-led attack on the Ukrainian people, we are witnessing a war of truth against tyranny. As Schwarzenegger explains, we don't blame the people of Russia, and we need them to know what their government is hiding from them,” the Secretary of State wrote.
Schwarzenegger, a former Austrian-born bodybuilding champion, whose film “Red Heat” (Red Hell, 1988) was the first American film shot on Red Square in Moscow, spoke of his long-standing affection for the Russian people and his excitement at meeting his idol, Russian weightlifter Yuri Vlasov, when he was 14 years old.
“The strength and heart of the Russian people have always inspired me,” he said. “That's why I hope they'll let me tell you the truth about the war in Ukraine.”
“I know your government has told you that this is a war to 'denazify' Ukraine,” he said.
“This is not true. Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the war of the Russian people,” he said.
- “My new heroes” -
Schwarzenegger said that “the world has turned against Russia because of its actions in Ukraine: whole apples have been razed by Russian artillery and bombs, including a children's hospital and a maternity hospital.”
“Because of its brutality, Russia is now isolated from the society of nations,” he said.
In a heartfelt appeal to Russian troops, Schwarzenegger recalled the injuries suffered by his father while fighting with the Nazis in Russia during World War II.
“He was physically and mentally broken and lived the rest of his life in pain,” he said. “To the Russian troops who hear this message (...) I don't want them to be torn apart like my father.”
“This is not the war to defend Russia that their grandparents or great-grandparents fought,” he said. “This is an illegal war. Their lives, the limbs of their bodies, their futures have been sacrificed by a senseless war condemned by the whole world.”
And addressing Putin directly, Schwarzenegger said: “You started this war. You're leading this war. You can stop this war.”
He closed the message by praising Russians who risk being arrested for protesting the war. “The world has seen their courage,” he told them. “You are my new heroes.”
Schwarzenegger's spokesman Daniel Ketchell said in the New York Times that the video comes “from Arnold's heart, not the government.”
US President Joe Biden called Putin a “war criminal” for his “special military operation” in Ukraine, launched on February 24. Since then, the UN has documented more than 500 civilians killed and more than 1,000 civilians injured, as well as more than three million refugees.