‘I give you a chance. Chance to survive’
The president of Ukraine has issued a stark warning to Russian soldiers fighting in the country, encouraging them to lay down their weapons.
The comments come as negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian representatives entered a fourth day on Monday, with President Zelenskyy sounding cautiously optimistic about their progress.
Despite this, fierce fighting is still underway across Ukraine and a number of cities remain under siege and bombarded by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address to his people: “I know that you want to survive. We hear your conversations in the intercepts, we hear what you really think about this senseless war.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance. Chance to survive,” he continued.
“If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently. In a way you were not treated in your army. And in a way your army does not treat ours. Choose!”
President Zelenskyy also said that peace talks were continuing between the Ukrainian delegation and the Russian party. He described the situation in the talks as “pretty good,” adding that he wanted a “fair peace.”
He also voiced his support for Russians who continue to protest against the war and “do not stop trying to convey the truth.”
In particular, he singled out Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who interrupted her channel’s news broadcast with an on-air protest.
Ovsyannikova walked on camera behind the newsreader with a sign reading: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.”
In a video on Telegram, Zelenskyy said: “I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones.
“And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war,” he continued.
“To those who are not afraid to protest. As long as your country has not completely closed itself off from the whole world, turning into a very large North Korea, you must fight. You must not lose your chance.”
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