You started Ukraine war, you can stop it: Arnold Schwarzenegger looks Putin in the eye

Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a firm message to Putin, asks him to stop the war on Ukraine, as he talks about the "human catastrophe" unfolding in Russia's neighbour.

Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has a request for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a bundle of “truth” for the Russians in a new nine-minute-long video. Calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “human catastrophe”, the former Governor of California stressed that the Russians fighting against the aggression on the streets of their country, despite the arrests and the jail terms, are his “new heroes”.

The video, pinned on Schwarzenegger’s Twitter account, comes 22 days after Russia first invaded Ukraine in a pre-dawn attack on February 24. On Thursday, Russia rained down missiles on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, hitting a 16-storey building, launched airstrikes on Mariupol, the besieged southern city, and continued to attack several other places. The video has been shared on Twitter over 70,000 times and “liked” by over 1.5 lakh users.

The actor looks right into the camera with his earnest, yet firm, message to Vladimir Putin: “And to President Putin, I say: You started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war.”

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S RUSSIA CONNECT

The video opens with the actor speaking about an incident from his childhood when he met Russian weightlifter Yuri Petrovich Vlasov in 1961. The actor was just 14 then. He speaks about how Vlasov became his hero after becoming the first person to lift 200 kg over his head. He went home with a picture of his “hero” Vlasov and put it up over his bed for ‘inspiration’ when he started lifting weights. But the photo angered his father, who asked him to take it down and find “a German or an Austrian hero”.

“He didn’t like Russians because of his experience in the Second World War. He was injured at Leningrad where the Nazi army he was part of did vicious harm to the great city and to its brave people,” he explains.

“But I did not take the photo down. It did not matter to me what flag Yuri Vlasov carried. My connections to Russia didn’t stop there. It actually deepened when I travelled there.”

He then goes on to talk about his love for Russia, sharing his time in the country years later, competing in bodybuilding contests, shooting for his films, meeting his fans and coming face to face with Vlasov once again.

Before going further, Schwarzenegger explains why he spoke about meeting Yuri Vlasov at 14. “Now the reason why I am telling you all of those things is because, ever since I was 14 years old, I've had nothing but affection and respect for the people of Russia. The strength and the heart of the Russian people have always inspired me and that is why I hope that you will let me tell you the truth about the war in Ukraine and what is happening there.”

BUSTING RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

Without mincing his words, the actor-turned-politician says, “No one likes to hear something critical of their government. I understand that, but as a long-time friend of the Russian people, I hope that you will hear what I have to say. I speak with the same heartfelt concern as I spoke to the American people when there was an attempted insurrection on January 6 last year, when a wild crowd was storming the US capitol trying to overthrow our government. You see, there are moments like this that are so wrong, and then we have to speak up. This is exactly the same with your government.”

Tearing a hole in the Russian propaganda around the war, he says: “I know that your government has told you that this is a war to de-Nazify Ukraine. De-Nazify Ukraine? This is not true!”

“Ukraine is a country with a Jewish president, a Jewish president I might add, whose father's three brothers were all murdered by the Nazis.”

A direct attack follows: “You see, Ukraine did not start this war. Neither did nationalists or Nazis. Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the Russian people's war. No. As a matter of fact, let me tell you, what you should know is that 141 nations at the UN voted that Russia was the aggressor. They called for it to remove its troops immediately. Only four countries in the entire world voted with Russia. That is a fact.”

DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE WAR

“The world has turned against Russia because of its actions in Ukraine. Whole city blocks have been flattened by Russian artillery and bombs, including a children's hospital and a maternity hospital,” he says, before bringing attention to the devastating refugee crisis the war has caused.

“Three million Ukrainian refugees, mainly women, children and elderly, fled their country. And many more are trying to seek to get out. It is a humanitarian crisis. Because of its brutality, Russia is now isolated from the society of nations.”

Schwarzenegger continues: “You're also not being told the truth about the consequences of this war on Russia itself. I regret to tell you that thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed. They have been caught between Ukrainians fighting for their homeland and the Russian leadership fighting for conquest. Massive amounts of Russian equipment have been destroyed or abandoned. The destruction that Russian bombs are raining down upon innocent civilians has so outraged the world that the strongest global economic sanctions ever taken have been imposed on your country.”

“Those who don't deserve it, on both sides of the war, will suffer,” he cautions.

Busting the “lies” of the Russian government, he says: “The Russian government has lied not only to its citizens but to its soldiers. Some of the soldiers were told they were going to fight the Nazis. Some were told that the Ukrainian people would greet them like heroes. And some were told that they were simply going on exercises. They didn't even know that they were going into war. And some were told that they were there to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine.”

“None of this is true.”

“The fact is that Russian soldiers have faced fierce resistance from the Ukrainians who want to protect their families and their country. When I see babies being pulled out of ruins, I think I am watching a documentary about the horrors of the Second World War, not the news of today.

“Now let me tell you, when my father arrived in Leningrad, he was all pumped up about the lies of his government. And when he left Leningrad, he was broken, physically and mentally. He lived the rest of his life in pain - pain from a broken back, pain from the shrapnel that always reminded him of those terrible years, and pain from the guilt that he felt.

“To the Russian soldiers listening to this broadcast, you already know much of the truth that I have been speaking. You have seen it with your own eyes. I don't want you to be broken like my father. This is not the war to defend Russia that your grandfathers or your great grandfathers fought. This is an illegal war. Your lives, your limbs, your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world,” he says.

MESSAGE TO KREMLIN, ITS SOLDIERS, RUSSIANS

“Now to those in power in the Kremlin, let me just ask you, why would you sacrifice those young men for your own ambitions? To the soldiers who are listening to this, remember that 11 million Russians have family connections to Ukraine, so every bullet you shoot, you shoot a brother or a sister. Every bomb or every shell that falls is falling not on an enemy, but on a school, or a hospital, or a home,” comes the actor’s grim reminder.

“I know the Russian people are not aware such things are happening. So, I urge the Russian people and Russian soldiers in Ukraine to understand the propaganda and the disinformation that you are being told. I ask you to help me spread the truth. Let your fellow Russians know the human catastrophe that is happening in Ukraine.”

At the very end, he has a message for all the Russians who are braving police action in their own country to protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

“Let me close with a message to all of the Russians who have been protesting in the streets against the invasion of Ukraine. The world has seen your bravery. We know you have suffered the consequences of your courage. You have been arrested. You have been jailed. And you have been beaten. You are my new heroes. You have the strength of Yuri Petrovich Vlasov. You have the true heart of Russia. My dear Russian friends, may God bless you all.”