First Russian troop to speak out publicly against Putin’s war. Hear what he has to say

Russian paratrooper, Pavel Filatyev, tells CNN's Matthew Chance what he has experienced fighting the war in Ukraine and the guilt of being used in "political games." He is the first serving member of the Russian military to publicly criticize the invasion of Ukraine and leave the country.
#CNN #News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcbffobzOWU

79 comments

    1. @Alternative Headlines well if that isn’t a classical case of the pot calling the kettle black. Or maybe more accurately the pot calling a handkerchief black. Once again Russian projection.

    2. @The Truth Shall Set You Free! No one says something came from nothing except creationists who think it makes them sound smart. A scientist wouldn’t even try to define “nothing”. What is “nothing”?

  1. Ukrainians are modern day Spartans.

    Ukrainians: “The world will know that free people stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a so called superpower can bleed.”

    Ukrainians: “Give the invaders nothing… But take from them, EVERYTHING!!!!”

    Glory to Ukraine!!! 🇺🇦 🇺🇲

    1. @jaime patena They were for the Freedom of Spartans and Greek citizens from the enslavement of the Persian Empire.
      ‘That’s’ the comparison. Nothing else, just ‘that’ very thing. ‘That’ specific moment in history when the King of Sparta sacrificed himself to save Greece. Just as the Oracle of Delphi had prophecised.
      It’s a very specific context.

    2. @Martijn Hover It was designed to make sure that Spartans weren’t tainted by money and corruption; which they believed came from bussiness and not training in the art of combat.
      The Helots were a means to an end. They weren’t the point.

    3. Weel. if the USA can lose against Vietnam, Russia can certainly lose against Ukraine.
      Never underestimate those fighting on home soil, for their homeland.

  2. I hope he moved away real quick after this video surfaced because with that footage, geo-locating him is a piece of cake for a serious intelligence agency. Your outside scenery shots SHOULD have been avoided. Same with inside shots of particularly unique architectural or equipment views. Even the inside decoration of the rooms can probably be found by a bot scouring through the pictures of hotels on the web…

    1. Not that it makes it impossible, but it is much easier on your own territory where you can cover it up or at least avert international incidents.

    2. It’s a hotel. He’s not an idiot. No doubt he traveled to a hotel in a remote location to be interviewed, then left. You are naive if you think that people living in a police state don’t know what they are doing and how to take precautions.

    3. @Bitcoin Anarchist That’s the truth at last. He would have got the ‘poohtinpoocar’, the equivalent of the russian oscar if he was russian. He’s such a good actor. The russian oscar ceremony organisers though has so many improvements to do. There is no equipment as russia is so backwards, no wireless micros, the roof of the building where the ceremony takes place leaks when there is rain, and there is no toilet paper in the toilets which are found 50 Mt from the main building.

  3. This man is very brave to speak against the war. When living in a criminal oligarch society with a murderous ex KGB dictator, it takes a lot of courage to say the truth.

    1. @Leah Jenika Of course im angry 😡 Zelensky and Ukraine ARE getting OUR WEAPONS AND OUR MONEY!! 🇺🇸 we’re paying for everything!

    2. @IsaiAid for Ukraine has been supported by lawmakers from both parties. If you’re so concerned, write your congressman, or vote for a different representative next time.

  4. When trying not to identify the location where this former Russian soldier was holding up, it would’ve made so much more sense not to have shown a feature as distinctive as that hallway carpet…… If the camera crew had kept the camera firmly focused on the presenter with just the magnolia coloured walls in the background, it truly would’ve been an anonymous location.

    1. @R O. – “at best your excuse puts others in danger.”
      How on earth anything I have said could put anybody in danger? Could you give a clear and logical explanation?

    2. @Ado Atero Pavel of course isn’t on the location of the interview any more, not even near. Those who possibly are after him have no illusions about that either.
      That’s not the point. The point is that these locations are starting points and clues to where he has been in during a specific time period. That’s one clue that is pretty easy to obfuscate, yet they didn’t.

    3. @Jen Kem – “The point is that these locations are starting points and clues to where he has been in during a specific time period.”

      Of course they are clues, and they are of course left on purpose. People who plan and arrange these things know about hundred times more of them than you and I do. I’m sorry, but you are a little like a tourist on a tourist attraction who thinks he has noticed something about the attraction that nobody else, including the guides, haven’t, and excitedly explains his finding to the guide who has heard the same “discovery” a few thousand times before.

      Yes, there were clues, and yes, the pursuers will follow those clues, just as they were meant to. If Filatyev hasn’t have any professional help so far, he has left many dangerous clues behind him until now. This interview and assumed security professionals involved are his chance to lose the possible pursuers for good. Losing them includes leaving clues that lead them astray. The misleading clues about where Filatyev is heading don’t work if the pursuers don’t find them, and they might not find them if they don’t know that Filatyev has been where the clues are.

      I of course don’t actually know how the interview was arranged, but you can be sure that everything we see on the video has been thoroughly considered.

    4. @Ado Atero I highly doubt the interviewers are using the level of obfuscation that you think they are. These are the same kind of reporters that blew a bunch of initial Ukraine cover under a bridge in the first months because they were being too loud.
      The easiest and most effective thing to do is just show the interview with a blank canvas background and nothing leading up to it.

    5. @Jen Kem – “I highly doubt the interviewers are using the level of obfuscation that you think they are.”
      I didn’t say the interviewers are. Those responsible for the security may have.
      – “The easiest and most effective thing to do is just show the interview with a blank canvas background and nothing leading up to it.”
      Did you even read my comment? Filatyev may very well have been close to being found, or he may have thought so. If he had any sense, his condition for the interview was to get help for losing his assumed pursuers. On my earlier comment I suggested what losing them could have involved.

    1. @Hilko van Walraven you already do and goes under the name of peacekeeping so let say Russia is peacekeeping Ukraine but when west/USA say it should be label as war then you all go with that, hypocrite

  5. No, no! We don’t think Russians are animals! I have nothing against the Russian people, we know that not all of you are in favour of the awfulness. People aren’t their governments. My heart goes out to you that disagree just as it goes out to the Ukrainians.

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤🇷🇺
    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤🇺🇦

    1. @TransistorLSD Culturally, philosophically, intellectually, economically, ect.

      Why don’t you know this?

  6. Thanks for showing this interview. This is the first time in 6 months I’ve felt any compassion for a Russian soldier. It’s good to know they’re not all ba$tards.

  7. It took alot of courage to speak out like this and for that I congratulate Mr Filatyev. But it’s not like the situation in Russia and it’s military is unique in anyway. How many times in the West have we seen the same sort of thing about all sorts of situations and nothing comes of it, until something goes badly sideways.

    I am no fan of Russia, never have been. This just illustrates that Russia is screwed up like the rest of us, just on a bigger scale. And if you think this is bad, imagine what China is like.

    1. @Darcy Perkins guess nobody is bothered about its choice not to surrender but to participate in the unprovoked attacks and illegal invasion, its choice to go public only because its own ministry of war crimes wouldn’t listen to it. A few crocodile tears is all that’s required to get sympathy and admiration among the rest of low enough

    2. @terrysky83 Participation in war is not a warcrime by itself. “Illegal invasion” were there legal ones?

  8. Pavel deserves praise. What he did takes courage, and shows he’s a man of integrity.

    The world needs more men of integrity.

    1. Yeah a few crocodile tears is all you need to make everyone forget the people you’ve murdered and war crimes you’ve committed, so bravo to war criminals

  9. My highest respect to this ex Russian soldier for speaking out against Vladolf Putler’s insane and genocidal war.

  10. Thank you Ukraine for defending Democracy and Freedom. The E.U. needs to help and support you much more so their sons and daughters can live a safe, carefree and happy life away from Russian war criminals, murderers and baby killers. Slava Ukraine.

  11. Having lived in that country, I have to tell you that this soldier is one of the bravest men I have ever heard of. He is likely to have signed his own death warrant at this point. And the security services there are not exactly subtle they are likely to take out others around him on the assumption that they need to get rid of what they would call a cancer

    1. If you’re going to come out against Russia, come out big like this guy. If anything happens to him now it will be a huge, glaring spotlight on Russia. And Russia is weirdly self-conscious about their image.

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