MOSCOW: Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has responded with wry humor on Twitter to patronizing comments made about her by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 16-year-old changed her Twitter biography to say “A kind but poorly informed teenager” after Putin described her in these terms at a Moscow forum this week.
On Wednesday, Putin said: “I don’t share the general enthusiasm” for Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech at the United Nations climate summit in September, which went viral with her repeated question: “How dare you?”
“I’m sure Greta is a kind girl and very sincere,” Putin said of the campaigner who sailed across the Atlantic instead of flying to speak at the UN.
However, “no one explained” to Thunberg, who has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, that “the modern world is developing quickly,” he lamented.
Putin said it was praiseworthy for young people to raise environmental issues, but raised the possibility that someone was manipulating Thunberg “in their own interests.”
He warned “adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations.”
US President Donald Trump also attempted to crush Thunberg, only for her to use his own words against him.
After her speech at the UN, Trump mocked her tone on Twitter, saying she “seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
Thunberg later changed her Twitter biography to read: “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
Thunberg has been tipped as a possible winner of this year Nobel Peace Prize.
Greta Thunberg mocks Putin’s ‘kind girl’ jibes on Twitter
Greta Thunberg mocks Putin’s ‘kind girl’ jibes on Twitter
- Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has 2.7 million followers on Twitter
- ‘Adults must do all they can not to lead teenagers and children into any extreme situations’
EU sends emergency generators to Ukraine as France plans to coordinate aid
- The European Commission will send 447 emergency generators worth $4.3m to restore power
- “Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ... are designed to break Ukrainian spirit,” Lahbib said
PARIS: The European Union is deploying emergency generators to Ukraine, saying Russian bombings have left a million people without power and heating, while France plans to hold a call to rally international help for Ukrainians exposed to extreme cold.
Electrical engineers have been working around the clock in hazardous conditions for weeks since Russia escalated attacks on Ukraine’s grid during a cold snap that has reached temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 F).
The European Commission will send 447 emergency generators worth 3.7 million euros ($4.3 million) to restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services affected by “relentless Russian strikes,” it said in a statement on Friday.
It added the generators will be mobilized from strategic reserves hosted in Poland and distributed in cooperation with the Ukrainian Red Cross to the most affected communities.
“Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ... are designed to break Ukrainian spirit,” European crisis chief Hadja Lahbib said in the statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared an energy emergency after the strikes over winter knocked out power generation and distribution facilities.
“We won’t let Russia freeze Ukraine. We bring light and warmth where Russia sends darkness,” Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova told a daily news briefing.
FRANCE TO HOLD CALL WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
Earlier on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM television that France would
hold a call
with G7 countries as well as Nordic and Baltic states later in the day to coordinate support for Ukraine’s energy grid.
“He continues to shell Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. We will continue to support Ukraine,” Barrot said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said France would supply Ukraine with the equivalent of 13 extra megawatts of electricity and around 100 generators to replace destroyed infrastructure. Other countries would also pledge assistance during the virtual meeting, he said.
