Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho

Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho pointed out Saturday that the crisis in Ukraine was being used as a pretext for peddling anti-Russia sentiment.

"Ukraine crisis a convenient excuse for Russophobia," he tweeted on his account.

The author of the international bestseller "The Alchemist" indicated that he had been to Lvov, Kiev, Odessa, Yalta, and Chernobyl and crossed 10,000 km by train from Moscow to Vladivostok.

"Yes, there is a war: but don’t blame the common people," he added.

The author's tweet resulted in contradicting responses, between condemnation and support.

I’ve been to Lvov, Kyiv, Odessa, Yalta, Chernobyl (Ukraine)
I’ve crossed 10.000 km by train, Moscow to Vladivostok (Russia)
Yes, there is a war: but don’t blame the common people
— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) March 11, 2022

A wave of Russophobic sentiment has swept across EU countries amid Russia's ongoing operation, including attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, organizations, citizens, movies, artists, and even Russian cats.

The University of Milan Bicocca even canceled lectures on Russian novelist and cultural icon Fyodor Dostoevsky for "political reasons" in light of the Ukraine crisis and rising tensions between the West and Moscow.

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On March 7, the Russian Agency for International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) in Paris was attacked. On the same day, a truck crashed outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin.

On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine in response to DPR and LPR calls for assistance in countering Ukrainian troop aggression.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and poses no threat to civilians.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.