Buterin Slams Putin's War as 'Criminal Aggression' in Support of Ukraine

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has taken a firm stance in support of Ukraine as the war against Russia reaches its fourth year mark. In a lengthy post on X, published on February 13th, days before the anniversary of the invasion on February 24th, Buterin declared his unequivocal support for Kyiv and called the war 'criminal aggression.'

Buterin, who was born in Russia but raised in Canada, acknowledged that Western nations had made mistakes in the past, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. However, he rejected both of Russia's most common justifications for the invasion: preventing NATO expansion near its borders and protecting Russian-speaking populations in Crimea and Donbas.

The Ethereum co-founder cited specific events as evidence that the war's aims went far beyond protecting Donbas, including attacks on Mariupol's theater, killings in Bucha, strikes on hospitals, and what he called 'human safari' in Kherson over the past three years.

In his post, Buterin also criticized Russia's opposition for failing to develop new strategies rather than relying on a stagnant status quo. He urged them to have a concrete plan capable of building a broad coalition, both inside Russia and internationally, as a critical first step towards creating change.