On Wednesday, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin published a tweet expressing his outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Putin announced that Russia will carry out a “special military operation.”
“Very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution to the dispute with Ukraine and go to war instead. This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people. I want to wish everyone security, although I know that there will be no security. Glory to Ukraine,” Buterin said.
Очень расстроен решением Путина отказаться от возможности мирного решения спора с Украиной и вместо этого начать войну. Это преступление против украинского и русского народа.
Хочу желать всем безопасности, хотя знаю, что не какой безопасности не будет.
Слава Украине.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 24, 2022
On February 11, Buterin has sent a tweet in Russian, calling for peace:
“An attack on Ukraine can only harm Russia, Ukraine and humanity. Whether the situation will return to a peaceful path or there will be a war can now be decided not by Zelensky, not by NATO, but by @KremlinRussia”
Нападение на Украину может только навредить России, Украине и человечеству.
Вернется ли ситуация на мирный путь или будет война, сейчас может решить не Зеленский, не нато, а @KremlinRussia
Надеюсь что выберут мудро.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 11, 2022
Russia-Ukraine conflict summary
The conflict began in February 2014, when Russia and pro-Russian forces attacked Ukraine, primarily over the status of Crimea and parts of the Donbas. The war’s major focus has been on the status of Crimea and other disputed territories that are widely regarded as part of Ukraine by international law.
Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border has exacerbated tensions between the two countries and strained bilateral ties during 2021-22, with the United States delivering a strong message that an invasion would be met with severe consequences for Russia’s economy.
Despite warnings from the West that the decision might lead to far-reaching punitive measures, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine during an emotional address broadcast on state television, despite Western worries.
“I believe it is necessary to take a long overdue decision, to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic”
– Vladimir Putin
Analysts believe that this could be the start of a larger conflict in Ukraine, and many officials are labeling the action an assault on Ukraine’s independence.
Conflict is nothing new to the Donbas region. For nearly eight years, it has been the scene of a low-intensity conflict between Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops that has resulted in more than 14,000 fatalities. Following the Kremlin’s surprise decision on Monday, concerns have been dramatically amplified. The Ukrainian government in Kyiv claims that the two areas are, in fact, Russian-occupied territories. The self-declared republics have no recognized government except Russia. The Ukrainian administration has refused to communicate with either separatist republic directly.
Buterin even met with Putin in order to discuss Ethereum integration
Vitalik Buterin was born in Russia during the final years of the Soviet Union and immigrated with his family to Canada in 2000, when Putin began his first term as president.
In 2017, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin met with Putin in a bid to get the country using the Ethereum network. While Putin has shown interest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, he has been hesitant to embrace them. He just overruled Russia’s central bank and suggested that the nation’s energy resources give it “certain competitive advantages” in Bitcoin mining.
But, unlike bitcoin and the cryptocurrency movement, which is inherently anti-authoritarian, neither Putin nor Russia has ever fully embraced blockchain technology. By design, distributed blockchains are non-partisan and decentralized. They are nevertheless crafted by human beings with political beliefs.
Ethereum price
Ethereum has been shedding value since Putin declared war on Ukraine, at the time of writing, ETH has a value of 2407.10 USDT.
