‘War Is A Crime’: Russian Pilot Tells Passengers On Flight, Calls On Sensible Citizens To Stop It

A Russian pilot denounced his country’s war on Ukraine on flight, telling passengers he believes sensible citizens will do everything to put an end to violence.

In the first 20 seconds of the 33-second video, the pilot speaks in Russian amidst some applause from the passengers, before speaking in English.

The unidentified pilot can be heard saying in English, “Dear customers, this is your captain speaking. I’m speaking on behalf of myself and not as a representative of the airlines. I think the war in Ukraine is a crime.”

He then adds, “We should not continue this war and stop it immediately. Don’t create this bloodshed. Thank you for your time.”

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Pjotr Sauer, a freelance journalist based in Moscow who writes for publications such as The Guardian, shared this video. Sauer wrote, “A Russian pilot tells passengers that he believes ‘the war in Ukraine is a crime,’ adding ‘I think each sensible citizen will agree with me and will do everything to make it stop.’ Rare to see public opposition to the war given the consequences such a statement will have.” Sauer’s tweeted video has been seen over 2.2 million times.

Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherb said the pilot works for Pobeda, a subsidiary of Russian airline Aeroflot. Aeroflot was among the first of the airlines to have been sanctioned immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Ukrainians are living through an enormous crisis as Russian forces continue attacks on their cities. The war has reportedly killed thousands of people and forced over 20 lakh out of Ukraine.

The world has responded to Russian aggression with protests, boycotts and economic sanctions.

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Russian citizens have themselves taken to the streets to decry their country's war on Ukraine. According to Al Jazeera, 13,000 people across 140 Russian cities have been detained so far for participating in protests.

The police in Russia is responding with force, beating protestors and using stun guns. Women protestors said that they received rape threats.

Russian authorities have also intensified crackdown on the already dwindling free press in the country. They have restricted access to Twitter and blocked Facebook.