The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Saturday evening directly to the Russian citizens, telling them that their president Vladimir Putin He knowingly sends “his compatriots to death”.
“The Russian ruler is fully aware that he is sending his compatriots to death,” Zelensky said in Russian. “You will be treated in a civilized manner… No one will know the circumstances of your surrender.”
This statement came hours following Putin signed on Saturday amendments that stipulate a prison sentence of up to ten years for soldiers who desert or refuse to fight during the mobilization period, which is currently in force.
“It is better to reject the rhetoric of conscription than to die as a war criminal in a foreign land,” Zelensky said, adding, “Escape from criminal mobilization is better than being paralyzed and then convicted in a court than participating in a war of aggression.”
“It is better to surrender to the Ukrainian army than to be killed by the strikes of our weapons, fair strikes from Ukraine, which is defending itself in this war,” he continued, addressing the Russian citizens.
The Russian President signed Vladimir PutinOn Saturday, the law on amendments to the Russian Criminal Code, which requires that the periods of mobilization and the state of war and its time be considered as aggravating circumstances in the event of a crime committed during them.
The legal amendments stipulate an increase in the penalty for unauthorized departure from a military unit, up to ten years in prison, under Article 337 of the Criminal Code, as well as for the warden’s failure to comply with the order of his commander in wartime, and refusal to participate in acts of war or hostilities, under Article 332. “In the time or period of a state of war, or in conditions of armed conflict or the conduct of hostilities.”
The law holds reserve personnel and those called up for military training criminally responsible for absence or defection, in the same way as compulsory service members and contractors.
(AFP, The New Arab)
