Russians are not real Russians if ashamed of Ukraine conflict – Kremlin

LONDON (Reuters) – Russians who say they are ashamed of the country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine are not real Russians, the Kremlin said on Friday.

“A real Russian is never ashamed to be Russian,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about a slogan “ashamed to be Russian” that some had repeated both inside and outside Russia.

“If someone says such things then they are just not Russian,” Peskov said. Peskov said anti-Russian feelings were running dangerously high in the West and said he hoped Western leaders would stop stoking such Russophobia.