Black Russian officer: There is no racism in special military operation zone

There is no place for racism in the Russian troops in the special military operation zone, a black officer of the Russian Armed Forces said.

Photo: минобороны.рф by Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, CC BY 4.0

The officer, named only as Andrei, said that his skin color was never a subject of disparagement. He did face a few isolated cases during his studies at the military academy when the head of the faculty did not allow the young man to raise the flag.

"The head of the faculty came out and said: "What do we have here, Olympics? Get him out of here!” Andrei said recalling the incident. He was not offended by the commander's words, though, Daily Storm publication reports.

There are no manifestations of racism in the zone of the special military operation. Men may only crack jokes on the subject, the officer said. Upon his arrival at the position, his comrades-in-arms told him that they already had a black man there. The men pointed to the grave of a dark-skinned Ukrainian mercenary.

"Most of the guys previously saw blacks only as their enemies,” one of the man's colleagues said.

Jokes about skin color do not turn into insults nor do they affect military discipline, the officer said with reference to to his subordinates.

"No one ignores my commands. If they do, they'll get it in the neck,” he said.