After rejecting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire proposal this week, Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy instead made a direct appeal to Russian citizens to oppose the war.
“To end the war… stop your state’s aggression,” he said in an overnight address Thursday.
Zelenskyi’s comments came just hours after Putin called on his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to order a January 6-7 ceasefire in recognition of Christmas in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Zelenskyy’s office rejected the proposal as a “cynical trap and propaganda element”.
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“Everyone in the world knows how the Kremlin uses pauses in the war to continue the war with renewed vigour,” Zelenskyi said in an overnight address. “What we need are the citizens of Russia…[to] find the courage to shake off their shameful fear of a man in the Kremlin.”
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“Your fear of him is destroying your country,” he added.
Zelenskyi pointed to Kiev’s attempts to implement a peace plan and bring about an end to the war, although Moscow opposed the plan, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops on December 25.
BAKHMUT, UKRAINE – JANUARY 4: Ukrainian soldiers stand near a stele with a Ukrainian flag and a handwritten inscription that reads “Bakhmut is Ukraine” on January 4, 2023 in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.
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“Already that day, the number of Russian soldiers killed was almost 95,000,” he said. “To date you have already lost almost 110,000 of your soldiers.”
“The war will be over when either your soldiers leave or we drive them out,” he added.
Zelenskyy reiterated his concern that Russia is planning a major operation to “turn the tide” in the war as its troops are unable to advance the line after losing significant tracts of land with the departure of Kharkiv from September.
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Kyiv has not detailed what it thinks Moscow is planning, but warned that Russia will throw “everything it has” at war.
Putin’s ceasefire proposal came just weeks after he ordered defense officials to overhaul their war effort by better supplying Russian troops, bolstering missile stockpiles and preparing Russia’s “nuclear triad” for combat.