Key facts:
The programmer says that Ethereum is neutral, but he is not.
He wished everyone safety, even if the situation does not offer it.
Russian forces today launched an operation in neighboring Ukraine in which attacks on military targets near large cities have been recorded. The international reactions have not been long in coming, including the community that revolves around cryptocurrencies. Among them, the Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin, came out strongly condemning the invasion by Russia.
The co-founder of the Ethereum network wrote a tweet in Russian in which manifested be “very upset” by the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to abandon peaceful solutions in the dispute with Ukraine and «start a war, instead».
“This is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people. I want to wish everyone safety and security, even though I know there won’t be,” Buterin added. Then in another Tweet he recalled that “Ethereum is neutral, but I am not.”
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Vitalik Buterin was born in Russia in 1994, shortly after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He immigrated to Canada in 2000 and now has dual citizenship. Russian-Canadian. His family left Russia when Putin took power, as Buterin’s father was an opponent of the Russian leader.
Previously, the programmer had already asked Putin that “an attack would only harm Ukraine, Russia and humanity”. However, this morning Putin announced the start of a “special military operation” in the Donbas region and warned that Moscow’s response would be “immediate” if anyone tried to confront Russia.
Later, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, denounced cruise missile attacks from Russia and broke off diplomatic relations with Moscow, as he has reported BBC. The full invasion of Ukraine is seen as the worst offensive in Europe since the end of World War II.
Buterin is known for expressing his opinions publicly. This week, he criticized the Canadian government for blocking the bitcoin funds and bank accounts of truckers protesting in Ottawa.
As CriptoNoticias reported in 2017, Buterin coincided with Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. At that time the co-founder of Ethereum nuanced the potential of its technological advances for the advent of the Russian futurereceiving in return the possible support of Putin for it.
Buterin, took part in the event with two presentations: “Blockchain – The Birth of a New Economy”, and “The Explosive Impact of Blockchain Technology”. In this last activity, he shared a panel with the Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, and the Vice President of the Central Bank, Olga Skorobogatova.
