“Crazy excesses” in Ukraine
Even Depardieu is fed up with Putin
03/31/2022 10:04 p.m
French actor Depardieu has admired Russia’s President Putin for years. This is proven by statements and photos that the film star will publish in February. But now Depardieu has had enough – he publicly condemns Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The French actor Gérard Depardieu has attested to the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin’s “crazy and unacceptable excesses” in view of his Ukraine war. The Russian population is “not responsible” for the behavior of the Kremlin boss, Depardieu emphasized in a statement. The entire proceeds of his three performances planned for early April at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées will “benefit the Ukrainian victims”.
“He has always had a unique affection for the Russian people,” Depardieu said. He referred to great Russian writers and composers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Depardieu received Russian citizenship in 2013. In the past he has repeatedly spoken positively about Putin. He described Russia as a “great democracy” and compared the Russian president to the former Pope John Paul II, among others.
“I am against this civil war”
In the summer of 2015, Ukraine imposed a five-year entry ban on Depardieu, who has had Russian citizenship since 2013. A spokeswoman for the National Security Service confirmed this at the time. “I love Russia and Ukraine, which is part of Russia,” Depardieu is said to have said before, according to media reports. The actor had apparently not denied that at the time.
As recently as mid-February, when Russia had already massed tens of thousands of soldiers near the Ukrainian border, the actor posted a photo of himself with Putin on Instagram and captioned it “friendship.” In early March, Depardieu then called for a ceasefire in Ukraine. “Russia and Ukraine have always been brother countries. I am against this fratricidal war,” he said at the time.