Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an impassioned attempt to tell Russian soldiers, and the Russian people, the truth about the war in Ukraine.

Describing himself as a “longtime friend of the Russian people,” the “Terminator” star released a nine-minute video, with Russian subtitles, on platforms including Telegram as he tried to bypass Kremlin propaganda.

Schwarzenegger, 74, told how his own father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, had fought for Nazi Germany at Leningrad, and been left injured and “broken”.

The former California governor said: “He was broken physically and mentally and lived the rest of his life in pain. To the Russian troops listening to this broadcast, I don’t want you to be broken like my father.

“This is not the war to defend Russia that your grandfathers or your great-grandfathers fought. This is an illegal war. Your lives, your limbs, your futures have been sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world.”

Addressing Vladimir Putin directly, Schwarzenegger said: “You started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war.”