Russian Rapper Speaks Out Against Vladimir Putin's War With Ukraine In Shocking Interview, Says Troops Are Being 'Taken To Slaughter Like Sheep'
Dec. 16 2022, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
A famous Russian rapper recently spoke out against Vladimir Putin’s conflict with Ukraine and indicated the majority of young Russians also do not support the ongoing war effort, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The rapper, Ptakha, made the shocking claims during an interview with Russia's state-owned propagandist channel NTV earlier this week.
According to Ptakha, young Russians are not only being ordered into Ukraine like "sheep to the slaughter" but Putin is also mobilizing young soldiers despite the young men suffering from severe health problems.
"Few people understand what we’re doing there because they have not crossed the border,” the Russian rapper explained. “Leveraging the Soviet Union, the Soviet ideology, saying that we are fighting the Germans, is very questionable.”
"Young people resist; they are taken there forcibly, like sheep to the slaughter. It happens in every region, anywhere you look,” he continued during his appearance on the propaganda talk show Mesto Vstrechi.
"Dima Pavlyuk, my buddy from Posledny Geroy, a guy with physical and mental health issues, currently on medication, came to me yesterday after a visit to a military enlistment office and just sat there, shaking,” Ptakha revealed. “Right in front of him, they enlisted a dude who had a heart valve problem."
Also surprising were the rapper’s claims many young Russians are choosing to fight in Ukraine under the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner in an effort to make money by fighting in the war.
"I have a lot of friends in the Wagner PMC now, guys fighting as we speak. They're making money,” Ptakha explained further. "I'll be honest with you: Whoever joins Wagner does it for money. Do you really think they’re going there for the motherland?"
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Ptakha’s claims on Russian TV this week came as a shock because of the consequences that befall those who publicly speak out against Putin and his failing war in Ukraine.
Marina Ovsyannikova, the former editor of a popular Russian news channel, was fired from her position after she held up a sign during a live broadcast reading: "Stop the war! Don't trust propaganda. They are lying to you."
She was then placed under house arrest for her protests against the war and, after fleeing Russia with her 11-year-old daughter, was placed on a federal watch list and arrested in absentia.
Other high-profile Russians who spoke out against Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine have faced more deadly consequences.
Viktor Cherkesov and Anatoly Karpov, who were previously close advisors to Putin, were found dead mysteriously or left comatose after criticizing the war in Ukraine.
Government officials, such as both Putin’s top aviation specialist and the 70-year-old leader's “point man,” were found dead under mysterious circumstances after questioning Russia’s “special military operation” against Ukraine.