The defection of a senior Russian diplomat who said he was “ashamed” of his country for its invasion of Ukraine is being met with a call for other Russian representatives at the world body to follow his example.

As first reported by United Nations Watch, a non-governmental organization based at Geneva, the defector is Boris Bondarev, Russia’s counselor at the UN in Geneva. UN Watch quoted him as saying, “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine “is not only a serious crime against the Ukrainian people,” Mr. Bondarev was quoted as saying, “but also, perhaps, the most serious crime is against the people of Russia.”

Mr. Bondarev had been a part of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2002. He had served a number of assignments in his tenure, including at Cambodia and Mongolia, with his position as counselor to the Russian mission to the United Nations in Geneva being his most senior. 

The executive director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, said his group is “now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations — and worldwide — to follow his moral example and resign.” Mr. Neuer has been leading an international effort to expel Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. 

In an interview with The New York Sun, Mr. Neuer said that the defection of a Russian diplomat “is an extraordinary event. We have not seen such a prominent defection since the fall of Gadaffi in Libya in 2011.”

Mr. Bondarev, in addition to his admission of shame, also spoke out against the Russ foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who, Mr. Bondarev reckons, “is a person who constantly broadcasts conflicting statements and threatens the world (that is, Russia too) with nuclear weapons.” 

When inquiring about how Mr. Bondarev’s treatment could affect whether future Russian diplomats defect, Mr. Neuer told the Sun: “If he is harmed, it will be a warning to future Russian diplomats. However, if the free world and the United States organize a program for future Russian diplomats of conscience to follow, more dominoes will fall in New York, Paris, and London.” 

Mr. Bondarev’s defection is a first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine — and rare admission of guilt by a representative of Russia. In a note that was sent to 40 diplomats at Geneva, Mr. Bondarev said that similar sentiments could be felt around the Russian diplomatic corps. “Not all Russian diplomats are warmongering. They are reasonable, but they have to keep their mouths shut,” Mr. Bondarev wrote.