Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he wants to “debunk Russian mistruths” in a message to the people of Russia, saying: “Ukraine did not start this war.”

The 74-year-old actor posted a message directed at the Russian people saying “there are things going on in the world that are being kept from you, terrible things that you should know about”.

The former bodybuilder said he has had nothing but “affection and respect for the people of Russia” since he was 14 after meeting his hero bodybuilder Yuri Petrovich Vlasov and later spending a day with him on the set of his film Red Heat in Russia.

In a video posted on Twitter, he said: “No-one likes to hear anything critical about their government, I understand that, but as a long-time friend of the Russian people, I hope that you will hear what I have to say.

“There are moments like this that are so wrong and then we have to speak up.

“I know that your government has told you that this is a war to denazify Ukraine, this is not true.

“Ukraine is a country with a Jewish president whose father’s three brothers were all murdered by the Nazis.

“You see, Ukraine did not start this war. Neither did nationalists or Nazis.

“Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the Russian people’s war.”

Schwarzenegger said he was speaking with the “same heartfelt concern” that he spoke to the American people with when there was an attempted insurrection on January 6 last year during the storming of the US Capitol.

Sharing video footage of the conflict in Ukraine, he added: “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.

Russia Ukraine War
Ukrainian firefighters work at a destroyed apartment building in Kharkiv (Andrew Marienko/PA)

“It is a humanitarian crisis.

“You’re also not being told the truth about the consequences of this war on Russia.

“I regret to tell you that thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, they have been caught between Ukrainians fighting for their homeland and the Russian leadership fighting for conquest.

“The Russian Government has lied not only to its citizens, but to its soldiers.

“This is an illegal war, your lives, your limbs are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world.”

Concluding his message, Schwarzenegger said the Russian’s protesting against the conflict who have been “beaten and jailed” are his “new heroes” and “have the true heart of Russia”.