Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged the Russians to “protest” against the mobilization on the Ukrainian front announced by the Kremlin or to “surrender” to the Kyiv forces.
“55,000 Russian soldiers have died in this war in six months (…) Do you want more? Nope?
“These are your options to survive.”
“You are already an accomplice in all the crimes (of the Russian army), murders and tortures of which Ukrainians are victims. Because you are silent. Because you are still silent,” accused Volodymyr Zelensky.
“It’s time for you to choose”
And affirm that the Russian authorities are preparing to mobilize “up to a million men.” Officially, Moscow announced the day before the mobilization on Wednesday of 300,000 reservists.
“It is time to choose for you. For men in Russia, it is the choice to die or live, to become disabled or to preserve health. For women in Russia, the choice is to lose their husbands forever, son, grandson or try in any way to protect them against death, against war, against the only man”, Vladimir Putin, launched again Volodmyr Zelensky.
More than 1,300 people were arrested Wednesday during impromptu anti-mobilization demonstrations across Russia, according to the NGO OVD-Info.
The announcement of the mobilization also caused an influx of Russians eager to leave the country, with queues reported at land borders with several countries. An estimate of the number was not available.
The Kremlin denied the magnitude of the departures and spoke of a phenomenon “very exaggerated”.
Source: BFM TV
