A Russian diplomat publicly condemned the conflict in Ukraine in a uncommon publish on social media Friday because the Russian invasion of the Jap European nation drags on.

Andrey Yakovlev, the consul basic of Russia, posted the condemnation in Russian language on the verified Instagram account of the Consulate Common of Russia in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although the account is non-public, a screenshot of the publish has been circulating on Twitter in each English and Russian languages.

"I, the Consul Common of Russia in Edinburgh, Yakovlev A. And, I categorically condemn the habits of the army particular operation of the Russian Armed Forces towards the sovereign, impartial state of Ukraine. I totally assist any help to Ukrainian armed forces from EU nations," the translated publish learn.

Nonetheless, the consulate seems to point out a special stance on its official Twitter feed the place it has retweeted posts by Russian officers making claims towards Ukraine. For example, the consulate retweeted a publish during which the Russian Mission to the U.N. accused Ukraine in April of getting ready "new provocation with a purpose to accuse Russia of alleged conflict crimes."

The consulate additionally retweeted a publish by the Russian Ministry of Protection that alleged that "all statements by Kiev nationalist regime about an alleged missile assault by Russia on the railway station in #Kramatorsk are unfaithful and are a provocation. Tochka-U tactical missiles are utilized by [Ukraine] Armed Forces solely."

In the meantime, the variety of Russian individuals towards the invasion of Ukraine has elevated. On-line polls carried out by the supporters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny confirmed the altering stance of Russians, in response to a collection of tweets that he posted in March. Newsweek could not independently confirm the findings of those polls.

The polls, which had been carried out between February 25 and March 3, discovered that 29 p.c of 700 respondents mentioned on February 25 that Russia was the aggressor once they had been requested how they'd assess the position of Russia in Ukraine.

Nonetheless, by March 3, this quantity elevated to 53 p.c, whereas solely 28 p.c of respondents noticed Russia as a "liberator."

In the meantime, western officers not too long ago floated the concept that Russia is about to formally declare conflict on Ukraine on Russia's "Victory Day" on Might 9, in response to Enterprise Insider.

U.Okay. protection secretary Ben Wallace informed LBC Radio on April 28 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been allegedly getting ready to ship extra troops to Ukraine.

"He is been ... laying the bottom for with the ability to say 'look, that is now a conflict towards Nazis, and what I would like is extra individuals. I would like extra Russian cannon fodder,'" Wallace mentioned. "He's most likely going to declare on this Might Day that 'we are actually at conflict with the world's Nazis and we have to mass mobilize the Russian individuals.'"

Russian Diplomat Publicly Denounces Ukraine War
A Russian diplomat publicly condemned the conflict in Ukraine in a uncommon publish on social media on Friday amid the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Pictured above, an anti-war signal within the colours of the Ukrainian flag is seen in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on March 27 in condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Picture by DAVID GANNON/AFP by way of Getty Photos

"To mass mobilize the Russian reserves is an admission of failure from a person who thought he would have gotten Ukraine in a few days," Wallace added.

Nonetheless, Russia denied these speculations, calling it "nonsense" because it continues to consult with the invasion as a "particular army operation," in response to BBC Information.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian overseas ministry for feedback.