Russian Powerlifter responds to Arnold Schwarzenegger's plea on Ukraine war

Veteran actor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently pleaded with Russian soldiers and the public on March 17 to listen to the "facts" concerning Russia's conflict in Ukraine, calling it a "humanitarian crisis" that has killed "thousands of Russian soldiers." The renowned actor and former California governor shared his appeal not only on Twitter but also on Telegram, a Russian-founded messaging app. For days, Russian state media sought to ignore Schwarzenegger's strong message, however, millions of views his plea garnered across numerous platforms pushed them to acknowledge it. 

The actor's video has now been criticised by Russian media, however, it is not only state media pundits who were offended by Arnold's message. Maryana Naumova, a Russian powerlifter, recently accused the American actor of "living in an alternative, imaginary reality." "The fact that Mr Zelensky, as you say, is a Jew, did not help them. Nazism has no nationality, Nazism is not based on the word ‘German.’ And Russophobia is no better than anti-Semitism," she asserted without facts, accusing the Ukrainian government of Nazism. 

Referring to Schwarzenegger's well-known feature films, she renarked, "Do you remember how in the second part of the Terminator your hero goes back in time to prevent the creation of Skynet, which would bring the death of all mankind? Russia's special military operation does not aim to destroy the Ukrainian people. It is aimed at the neo-Nazi Skynet, which over the years has completely subjugated Ukraine and was about to turn into an uncontrollable monster, dangerous for all of its neighbors, not only for us... Don’t side with Skynet, Terminator."

Notably, Maryana Naumova's response to the American actor is now shared by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Facebook. Take a look:

Russia-Ukraine War

Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine dismissed Russia's ultimatum that forces fighting the Russian onslaught in Mariupol surrender by laying down guns and raising white flags in exchange for safe passage out of the besieged city. Russia claimed it will continue to use state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to hit vital targets in Ukraine as the war in the country entered its 27th day on Tuesday.

Moreover, sirens have been triggered in the oblasts of Sumy, Ternopil, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattya, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Rivne, Volyn, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky, Khmelnytsky, Odesa Oblasts. Further, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Troops, Ukrainian forces have shot down more than 9 enemy aviation targets in the last 24 hours. One plane, six unmanned aerial vehicles, and two helicopters were shot down by Ukraine's air force.

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