A Russian lawmaker on Wednesday criticized his fellow countrymen for allegedly purchasing billions of dollars worth of Dutch flowers for International Women’s Day, implying that the money was helping fund Ukraine’s war effort.
“Do you know where the money in most of these multibillion-dollar flows went to?” Oleg Nilov, from the systemic opposition party A Just Russia, asked lawmakers during a lower-house State Duma session.
“To Holland,” he said, claiming that Russians spent $6 billion on flowers imported from the Netherlands during International Women’s Day celebrations on March 8.
He posited that because the Netherlands sends military aid to Kyiv, those who purchased Dutch flowers indirectly supported the Ukrainian military.
“What, we can’t grow our own tulips and roses?” he asked lawmakers.
Nilov, who was sanctioned by the West in 2022 over his support for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is known for his outlandish and scandalous public statements.
In December 2022, the lawmaker promised to send rockets to a Ukrainian child during the annual New Year’s “Wishing Tree” tradition.
After picking a card from a decorated tree, Nilov read: “The boy Vova from Kyiv dreams of rockets. Vova, you will receive rockets, just wait.”
“It’s a joke, of course,” he said.
