Zelenskyy warns Russian soldiers to not believe their commanders 'when they tell you that you still have a chance in Ukraine'
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops on Wednesday to avoid putting their trust in their commanders.
- "Nothing is waiting for you here," he said. "Except for captivity, except for death."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his message to Russian soldiers that they should not believe their commanding officers.
"Do not believe your commanders when they tell you that you still have a chance in Ukraine," he said in a Wednesday address. "Nothing is waiting for you here. Except for captivity, except for death."
"You take our lives and give yours," his address continued. "And we know — we have communications interception — that your commanders already understand everything."
Zelenskyy's stern warning comes just days after a scathing New York Times report that said Russian soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine were not told they would be going into war.
According to various firsthand accounts from soldiers collected by The Times, Russian soldiers were lied to and kept in the dark about battle plans.
A captured Russian lieutenant found out about the Ukrainian invasion just hours before going into battle, according to The Times. And soldiers who were ranked lower only found out when they were already on the move, having crossed the Russian border into Ukraine.
Early last week, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations presented during a speech a text exchange between a Russian soldier and his mother.
While in Ukraine, the Russian soldier texted his mother to inform her that he wasn't really on a training mission. Instead, he was fighting in a "real war."
"We are bombing all of the cities together, even targeting civilians," the soldier's text to his mother read, according to Ukraine's ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya. "We were told that they would welcome us, and they are falling under our armored vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels and not allowing us to pass."
Zelenskyy has previously given Russian troops a similar warning last week.
"Throw away your equipment and leave," Zelensky said in a video statement. "Do not believe your commanders. Do not believe your propagandists. Just save your lives — leave."