Putin’s War Rationale Is Like Men Blaming Women for Rape: Ukraine Official

Ukrainian politician Kira Rudik criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rationale for the war in Ukraine, comparing it to instances in which victims of sexual assault are blamed because of what they were wearing.

“They’re basically saying Ukraine was wearing lipstick. Ukraine was wearing a very short skirt. That’s why we didn’t have any other way to act other than attack and rape. This is exactly what they were saying, and this is exactly what Russia is doing,” Rudik said Tuesday during an interview with Sky News.

Putin repeatedly has attempted to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in late February by accusing its neighboring country of being the aggressor. He spoke at length about his rationale during Victory Day celebrations in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday, defending going to war as the “only right decision” as he accused the West of arming NATO so that Ukraine could attack Crimea.

“It was a threat we couldn’t accept, it was a threat directly to our border. Everything showed that we are dealing with Nazis and we have to do something about it,” he said during a speech.

Ukrainian politician Kira Rudik criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rationale for the war in Ukraine, comparing it to instances in which victims of sexual assault are blamed because of what they were wearing. Above, Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leave Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2022. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

“There was a threat that was growing day by day. We had to do something, we had to do something and we did it—it was the only right solution we could take,” Putin added. “It was a decision taken by a sovereign and strong country.”

He reiterated his goal to “de-nazify” Ukraine and said that Russia’s fight for “the Motherland” in Ukraine’s Donbas region was “so that no one forgets the lessons of World War II.”

Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and leader of the Voice political party, told Sky News that it could be “funny” that Russia is “living in such a fairytale world of propaganda” if it hadn’t recently allegedly bombed a school in eastern Ukraine.

The attack, which Russia had not publicly commented on as of Monday, according to the BBC, led to fears that up to 60 were killed.

Rudik said that all the peace talks and negotiations to end the war are “useless.”

“They cannot lead to any conclusion because the position of Russia in it is completely out of this world,” she said. “It is based on the total propaganda that they had all the right to invade my country, that they had the right to attack and kill innocent people because they felt that there was a threat. They felt that NATO, which is an absolutely defensive organization, was planning to attack them.”

Newsweek reached out to Rudik and Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment.