Russian-born writer Arch Hades tells Sky News the bombardment of Ukraine is “abhorrent” and insists most Russians oppose “Putin’s war”.
A Russian-born poet and Instagram favourite who fled the country after her father was murdered has called for Vladimir Putin to be arrested and tried for war crimes.
Arch Hades, a pseudonym she uses for security reasons, told Sky News the bombardment of Ukraine was “abhorrent” and insisted most Russians oppose “Putin’s war”.
The 29-year-old, whose poetry has seen her amass more than one million Instagram followers, moved to London as a child after her father was “gunned down in an alley” in St Petersburg, she said.
Her father, who she asked not to be named to protect her surviving relatives, was a businessman who embraced “democracy and liberalism”, which the Putin regime “despised”, she added.
She has now voiced fears that Russians have been “sealed in a cage” with Mr Putin as the country becomes increasingly isolated, and he will “take out his wrath on them” if he loses the war in Ukraine.
Hades told Sky News: “I hope to see Putin in The Hague. I hope to see him tried for war crimes.
“I’m afraid that when Putin doesn’t get his way, he doubles down and he might escalate his aggression.
“I really fear for the Ukrainian people. This is survival for them.
“I’m a pacifist but I know if the Ukrainians put down their weapons, there will be no more Ukraine.
“If Putin does take over, I’m afraid he won’t stop there.”