Russia Soccer Star Calls Putin 'Scum' in Stunning Outburst

Soccer star Nadezhda Karpova, a member of the Russian women's national team, has lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a stunning outburst on her Instagram page.

Karpova, 27, who plays club soccer for Espanyol in Spain, posted a scathing message directed at Putin and Lukashenko on her Instagram story, shortly after the leaders joked on Monday that they consider themselves "co-aggressors" and "the most harmful and toxic people on this planet."

"You're scum, you're scoundrels, you're the ones who committed the genocide, you're the ones who must be tried," Karpova wrote.

"You're not just 'toxic,' you are f****** fascists who have long had no place in today's world, and I hope you'll get what you deserve, because good always triumphs over evil.

Karpova, who is also known by the diminutive version of her first name, Nadya, is the only member of the Russian women's team to have voiced her opposition to the war in Ukraine. She posted the message after Putin and Lukashenko met in Belarus for the first time in three years.

"You know the two of us are co-aggressors, the most harmful and toxic people on this planet," Lukashenko said with Putin sitting next to him. "We have only one argument—who is bigger. Vladimir Vladimirovich says I am, I'm starting to think he is, so we decided together. The same. That's all."

A clip of their exchange was shared on Twitter by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko.

Since the war in Ukraine began on February 24, Belarus has been used by Russia as a staging ground to send missiles and troops into Ukraine, but it has not participated directly in the war.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that the U.S. has "long been concerned by Belarus's role in Russia's aggression."

"We continue to monitor Russia's force posture closely," she said, adding that the U.S. would "remain in close contact with Ukraine" over its defense from Russian aggression.

In other Instagram stories posted by Karpova on Monday and Tuesday, she wrote: "F*** Putler, F*** war," and shared news articles about the Ukraine war, including a photo essay from the Guardian newspaper, titled: "Ukraine prepares for harshest winter since Second World War."

The soccer star regularly posts content criticizing Putin's war in Ukraine on her Instagram page.

In early October, she urged Russians against going to military registration and enlistment offices.

"If you don't want to fertilize the land, don't go to the military registration and enlistment offices, it's not just 'they call me—I'll go.' You will be sent to [commit] crime. In Ukraine, there are people like us—and you will go to kill them?" she wrote.

She first spoke out against the war in June, saying that she "can't just look at this inhumanity and stay silent."

"I don't know what would happen if I was in Russia, not in Spain, but I feel a special responsibility to speak out," Karpova said in an interview with the BBC.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries for comment.

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