“55,000 Russian soldiers were killed in this war within six months (…) Do you want more? No; So protest! Compete! Go away! Otherwise, surrender (to the Ukrainian army)!” the Ukrainian president said in Russian at the start of his videotaped speech.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged Russians to protest against the partial mobilization declared by the Kremlin and called on them, if deployed on the territory of his country, to surrender to the Ukrainian army.
“55,000 Russian soldiers were killed in this war within six months (…) Do you want more? No; So protest! Compete! Go away! Otherwise, surrender (to the Ukrainian army)!” the Ukrainian president said in Russian at the start of his videotaped speech.
“You are already complicit in all the crimes (of the Russian army), murder and torture of Ukrainian victims. “Why are you silent?” Zelensky emphasized.
He claimed that Moscow was ready to mobilize “up to a million men”.
Officially, the Kremlin reported a partial mobilization of around 300,000 reservists.
“It is choice time for you. For men in Russia, it is a choice to die or live, to be disabled or to keep their health. For women in Russia, the choice is to lose their husbands, sons, grandchildren forever, or at least try to prevent their deaths. Against the war, against a specific person (Russian President Vladimir Putin),” the Ukrainian president continued.
More than 1,300 people were arrested on Wednesday during protests in several Russian cities against conscription, according to the non-governmental organization OVD-Info.
After the declaration of partial conscription, overcrowding was reported at Russia’s land borders, as not a few wanted to leave the country. No estimate of this number was available, the AFP points out.
The Kremlin downplayed the reports, calling them “exaggerations”.
RES-EMP
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