LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - "Terminator" star Arnold
Schwarzenegger appealed to Vladimir Putin on Thursday to end the "senseless"
war in Ukraine and praised Russians protesting the conflict as his "new
heroes."

  "Ukraine did not start this war," the former California governor said in an
emotional message to the people of Russia and Russian troops posted to his
Twitter account and other platforms.

  "I'm speaking to you today because there are things going on in the world
that are being kept from you, terrible things that you should know about," he
said in the powerful nine-minute video that was subtitled in Russian.

  The Austrian-born former bodybuilding champion, whose film "Red Heat" was
the first American movie filmed in Moscow's Red Square, spoke of his
affection for the Russian people and meeting his idol, Russian weightlifter
Yuri Vlasov, when he was 14 years old.

  "The strength and the heart of the Russian people have always inspired me,"
he said. "That is why I hope that you will let me tell you the truth about
the war in Ukraine."

  "I know that your government has told you that this is a war to 'de-Nazify'
Ukraine," he said. "This is not true. Those in power in the Kremlin started
this war. This is not the Russian people's war."

  Schwarzenegger said "the world has turned against Russia because of its
actions in Ukraine -- whole city blocks have been flattened by Russian
artillery and bombs, including a children's hospital and a maternity
hospital.

  "Because of its brutality, Russia is now isolated from the society of
nations," he said.

  In an appeal to Russian troops, Schwarzenegger recalled the wounds suffered
by his father while fighting for the Nazis in Russia during World War II.

  "He was broken physically and mentally and lived the rest of his life in
pain," he said. "To the Russian troops listening to this broadcast... I don't
want you to be broken like my father.

  "This is not the war to defend Russia that your grandfathers or your great-
grandfathers fought," he said. "This is an illegal war. Your lives, your
limbs, your futures have been sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the
entire world."

  Addressing Putin directly, Schwarzenegger said: "You started this war. You
are leading this war. You can stop this war."

  He closed the message with praise for Russians risking arrest by protesting
against the war.

  "The world has seen your bravery," he said. "You are my new heroes."