Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has the aim of "fighting Nazism". The country's embassy in South Africa was responding to a tweet from its Russian counterpart which appeared to lay out the reasons for Russia's invasion of its neighbours last month.
The tweet said: "We have received a great number of letters of solidarity from South Africans, both individuals and organizations. "We appreciate your support and glad you decided to stand with us today, when Russia, like 80 years ago, is fighting Nazism in Ukraine!" But German diplomats fired back: "Sorry, but we can't stay silent on this one, it's just far too cynical. "What Russia is doing in Ukraine is slaughtering innocent children, women and men for it's own gain. "It's definitely not 'fighting Nazism'.
Shame on anyone who's falling for this. (Sadly, we're kinda experts on Nazism.)"Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has been met with widespread international condemnation.
The threat of nuclear war has also been raised after Putin placed Russia's nuclear deterrent on 'high alert' in response to Western sanctions.
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