Summary

In the speech “This is an illegal war”, Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses the Russian people about the war in Ukraine. He begins by saying that terrible things are being kept from Russians and they need to know about them. 

First, however, Schwarzenegger talks about his hero, Russian World Weightlifting Champions Yury Petrovich Vlasov. Schwarzenegger says that Yury was his hero, despite the objections of his father, who was a WorlD War Two veteran and who had fought against the Russians. Schwarzenegger , however, says that he did not care that Yury was Russian. 

Schwarzenegger recounts that years later he was filming an action movie in Moscow when he met up with Yury again. He remarks on what a good man Yury was and says that he never forgot their time together. 

Schwarzenegger explains that this story shows he has always respected and loved the Russian people, which is why he wants them to know the truth about the war in Ukraine. He says he also felt the need to tell the American people a harsh truth about their president on January 6th 2021 when a group of people stormed the U.S. Capitol building. 

Schwarzenegger first tells Russians that although their government told them the war is meant to get rid of the Nazis i...