Boris Bondarev, a veteran Russian diplomat to the United Nations, resigned on Monday citing the “aggressive war unleashed” by Moscow on Ukraine. In his resignation letter, the diplomat said he was “ashamed” of his country.

41-year-old Bondarev handed his resignation letter to the Geneva office of the United Nations. It read, “For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year.”

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The former Russian delegate said that Moscow had not yet reacted to his resignation letter — and by extension his criticism. “Am I concerned about the possible reaction from Moscow? I have to be concerned about it”, he told Associated Press.

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, was particularly criticised in the letter written by Bondarev. Lavrov went from being a “professional and educated intellectual to a person who constantly broadcasts conflicting statements and threatens the world with nuclear weapons“, the letter said.

“Today, the (Russian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy. It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred”, the diplomat wrote in the letter that was sent to more than 40 co-delegates.

Diplomats and human rights advocates from other countries spoke out in support of Bondarev. Executive Director of UN Watch, wrote in a social media post, “Boris Bondarev is a hero.”

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Here is an excerpt from Boris Bondarev’s resignation letter:

“The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous and free society in our country.”