Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Thursday told Russians who will be mobilized to participate in Russia’s war in Ukraine that if they don’t want to die, then protest, flee or surrender.

Volodymyr ZelenskyiPhoto: American Photo Archive / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia

“For six months, 55,000 Russian soldiers died in this war. Tens of thousands of wounded and maimed. Do you want more? No? Then protest. Give change. Flee or surrender to Ukrainian captivity. These are your options if you want to survive”

According to Zelenskyi, Putin’s decision to partially mobilize reservists is a frank admission that the Russian army could not withstand Ukraine.

“Now, thanks to mobilization, Russia’s war against Ukraine for the majority of citizens of the Russian Federation is no longer a television or Internet space, but has entered every Russian home,” Zelenskyy said.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s first public mobilization since World War II. The country’s defense minister has said he intends to bring in 300,000 experienced specialists for Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, where it has recently suffered major setbacks.

However, a secret clause in the decree on partial mobilization, signed by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, allows one million people to be enrolled in the Ministry of Defense, Novaya Gazeta writes.

The Kremlin has dismissed reports of Russian men of working age fleeing after Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization as “exaggerated”.

However, in Russia, plane ticket prices have increased due to high demand and queues at the border.

Small-scale protests erupted in 39 cities across Russia, with authorities arresting more than 1,000 people by Wednesday evening, who were attacked and mistreated by law enforcement even as people protested peacefully.

Some of the men detained by law enforcement officers were ordered to join the army at police stations.

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