noIn the usual daily speech, which was posted on videotape Saturday evening, Zelensky addressed Russian soldiers directly in Russian.
The Ukrainian leader said Russia was recruiting new forces “with little motivation and little combat experience” to reinforce units that suffered losses during the first weeks of the invasion.
After failing to capture the capital, Kyiv, the military focused on a new offensive in eastern Ukraine to try to secure complete control of the Donbass River and create a land corridor with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian military leaders are aware that thousands of soldiers may die and thousands more may be injured in the coming weeks.
“Russian leaders lie to their soldiers when they tell them they can expect to hold them seriously for refusing to fight,” Zelensky said.
“They are not telling them, for example, that the Russian army is preparing additional refrigerated trucks for storing bodies. They are not telling them about the new losses that the generals are expecting,” the Ukrainian president said.
“Every Russian soldier can still save his life,” Zelensky said. “It is better to survive in Russia than to die in our land.”
According to information released by British intelligence on Saturday, Russia continues to have problems with tactical coordination in Ukraine and its air support is inconsistent.
A report submitted by the British Ministry of Defense added that Russia hopes to correct the problems that limited the invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control.
The report adds that Russia has had to incorporate units that failed to make progress in northwest Ukraine, noting that many of these units may be morally exhausted.
Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine on February 24, killing about 3,000 civilians, according to the United Nations, which warns that the real number is likely to be much higher.
The military offensive has caused more than 12 million people to flee, of whom more than 5.4 million are outside the country, according to the latest United Nations data.
The international community in general condemned the Russian invasion, and responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and strengthening economic and political sanctions against Moscow.
Read also: In minutes: Withdrawals of civilians from Azovstal; Swedish airspace violation
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