Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin on Wednesday whetted his support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. He said similar wars may be raging on in other parts of the world but that doesn’t mean people should stop caring about the Ukrainians or vice-versa.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Ethereum’s co-founder said:
“Ukrainians are far from the only ones suffering from war. Also people in Yemen, Ethiopia… just as human as Ukrainians and you are. This is NOT a valid excuse to not care about Ukrainians today. But it does mean we should self-reflect and extend our compassion to others too.”
This adds to the string of support that the cryptocurrency proponent has been showing towards Ukraine ever since the war broke out.
The latest tweet followed his reply to a tweet that asked European Universities to accept Russian students who have been punished for protesting against the Putin regime.
Buterin had replied to Anton Barbashin, Editorial Director of Riddle Russia, a news site, where he said:
“It would be an amazing gesture if a European University would openly welcome Russian students kicked out for protesting the war in Russia, signaling that Europe stands with those in Russia that oppose Putin and oppose the war. That not all Russians are treated as Putin&Co.”
Replying to this, Buterin noted that priority should be on supporting Ukrainians and after that supporting people who oppose Putin’s regimen and decisions.
Earlier on February 24, Buterin famously proclaimed that:
“Reminder: Ethereum is neutral, but I am not.”
Before this tweet, he had said in Russian that President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a “crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people.”
However, Buterin’s tweet didn’t go uncontested. Some pointed out that while true, western media fails to reflect the conflicts in other countries as directly as that in Ukraine. Other Twitter users dug out a 2017 Forbes news story that said that Putin had endorsed Ethereum after a meeting with Buterin.