Former Russia Spy Labels Volodymyr Zelensky A Nazi, Claims Ukrainians Are Killing Themselves

Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina made a preposterous claim saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, is a Nazi. She also claimed that Ukraine’s own military, and not Russian soldiers are raining bullets and mortars over the country.

Butina made the bizarre claims Thursday during an interview with BBC Radio host Nick Robinson. Butina was asked if she thinks Zelensky is a Nazi, she said that according to his actions, "absolutely.” Countering her, Robinson said that Zelensky is Jewish, his great-grandfather died fighting the Nazis as part of Russia, so the host said that the President is "a bit of an unlikely Nazi.”

Butina replied saying that she believes that Nazism is not about just one nation, "it’s about killing, murdering, torturing, alienation, based on their race, their gender, their nationality, country of origin and what we see today.” Then Robinson said that by that definition, Russian President Vladimir Putin is a Nazi.

But the former spy said that Russia is not bombing citizens, and that Russian military troops actually "are having humanitarian corridors.” Butina kept on insisting that Russia was not bombing civilian targets, according to the Daily Beast. She claimed that Russia "has tons of evidence" showing that its army "does not bomb civilians." When she was pushed to provide this evidence, she replied saying that you cannot prove things like this "because we just don't do it. Russians just don't do it."

Butina was convicted of working as a foreign agent in America in 2018, reported Daily Mail. She was previously jailed in the US for trying to infiltrate political organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA). In 2014, she started attending NRA meetings and other conservative events in the US.

She often posted Facebook pictures of herself with prominent Republicans like Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker and Rick Santorum. While doing so, she remained in contact with a Russian official, Alexander Torshin. Prosecutors previously said that she was acting on Kremlin orders to insert herself into US politics.

Meanwhile, Mariupol in south eastern Ukraine has been surrounded by Russian soldiers for days. A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the city. As the shelling shattered buildings and left the city with no water, heat, working sewage systems or phone service, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk called it a "catastrophic" situation.