Putin this week warned that Moscow would use “any means” to defend its territory.
Kyiv:
On Saturday, Russia imposed severe punishments on soldiers who voluntarily surrender or refuse to fight, with sentences of up to 10 years in prison, and the country replaced its top logistics general. after a series of defeats in the seven-month war in Ukraine.
Those developments come days after Russia launched a local mobilization affecting 300,000 additional troops, at a time when Kyiv has recaptured more and more territory in a spectacular counter-offensive.
It appears that in response to the new Russian penalties, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke directly to Russian nationals on Saturday, telling them that their president was intentionally “bringing citizens to this their death.”
Speaking in Russian, he called on Moscow’s forces to surrender, saying, “You will be treated civilly… No one will know the circumstances of your surrender.”
His stark remarks came as Kremlin-held regions of eastern and southern Ukraine voted for a second day on whether to become part of Russia, dramatically raising the stakes. part of the conflict.
Incorporating the four regions into Russia would mean Moscow would consider any military move there as an attack on its territory.
Zelensky denounced the polls, calling them “crimes against international law and Ukrainian law”.
Ukraine’s recent gains have exposed flaws in Russia’s approach since its invasion on February 24, with some analysts seeing logistics as the weak link in Moscow’s military.
“Army General Dmitry Bulgakov has been relieved of his position as deputy defense minister” and will be replaced by Colonel Mikhail Mizintsev, 60, the Defense Ministry said.
The partial Russian mobilization, announced Wednesday, is likely to be one of Mizintsev’s first major logistical challenges, with hundreds of thousands of reservists summoned in need of equipment and training. before deployment.
Men of military age have managed to leave, with flights filling up and neighboring countries receiving large numbers of Russians. The Russian regional authorities said about 2,300 private vehicles were waiting at a road entering Georgia.
Daria, 22, said: “We are talking to our friends and many are thinking of leaving, after fleeing Russia to Istanbul with many of their countrymen.
“Not everyone wants to leave in February. The decision (to deploy) on September 21 has forced many people to rethink.”
According to independent monitoring group OVD-Info, more than 700 people were arrested during Saturday’s protests against partial mobilization.
Now, with President Vladimir Putin signed into law, soldiers who defect, surrender “without permission”, refuse to fight or disobey orders could face up to 10 years in prison.
Robbery is punishable by 15 years in prison.
A separate law, also signed on Saturday, makes it easier for foreigners to enlist in the Russian military, making it easier for foreigners to enlist in the Russian military as the Kremlin seeks to strengthen its ranks.
Biden calls vote a ‘sham’
On Friday, US President Joe Biden dismissed the vote as “sham” on whether Russia should annex four regions of Ukraine.
And in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, even Beijing, Moscow’s closest ally since the war began, urged Russia and Ukraine not to let the war’s effects “overflow.” .
In a speech to the United Nations on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov harshly criticized Western nations, saying the United States and its allies seek to “destroy” his country.
“Official Russian phobia in the West is unprecedented. Now its scope is ridiculous,” he said.
He also defended the referendums, describing them as land claimants “where their ancestors lived for hundreds of years.”
Voting is being held in the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Lugansk regions to the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to the south.
Authorities there will go door-to-door to collect votes.
Polling stations will then open on Tuesday for the public to vote on the final day of voting. Results are expected as early as late Tuesday.
Leonid, a 59-year-old military official, told AFP: “In the end, everything is moving towards restoring the Soviet Union. The referendum is a step towards this.”
The snap referendums were announced just this week after a Ukrainian counter-offensive took most of the northeastern region of Kharkiv – bringing hundreds of settlements back under Kyiv control after months of Russian occupation. close.
On Saturday, bad weather and stiff Russian resistance slowed Ukraine’s counterattack with a brutal slogan in Kupiansk, in the eastern Kharkiv region.
“At the moment, the rain is making it difficult to use heavy weapons everywhere. We can only use paved roads,” Sergeant Roman Malyna of the Ukrainian army told AFP.
Irpin, near the capital, was recaptured after weeks of fighting and its inhabitants rallied to begin rebuilding before winter began.
More than 100 apartment complexes in Irpin – dubbed the “hero city” by Zelensky for stopping the Russian invaders – were badly damaged by shelling.
Evidence of ‘war crimes’
The head of the association of residents in his building, Mykhailo Kyrylenko proudly watched the new roof take shape.
“People don’t have much money, but they agree” to donate funds to gradually restore dilapidated houses, he told AFP.
Putin this week warned that Moscow would use “any means” to defend its territory – something former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev claimed on social media could include the use of “war nuclear weapons”. comb”.
United Nations investigators on Friday accused Russia of committing “massive” war crimes in Ukraine – listing horrific bombings, executions, torture and sexual violence.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said they had exhumed 447 bodies from a site near the city of Izyum, which was recaptured by Russian forces.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of fabricating evidence of alleged war crimes.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
