In his usual daily speech released on Saturday night video, Zhelensky addressed the Russian soldiers directly.
The Ukrainian leader said Russia would deploy new troops “with little motivation and little combat experience” to strengthen divisions that suffered casualties in the first weeks of the invasion.
After failing to capture the capital Kiev, the military is focusing on a new offensive in eastern Ukraine to gain full control of the Donbass and establish a land corridor with Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Volodymyr Zhelensky said Russian military leaders knew that thousands of troops could be killed and thousands wounded in the coming weeks.
“Russian commanders lie to their soldiers and expect them to take serious responsibility for their refusal to fight,” Zhelensky said.
“For example, they were not told that the Russian military was preparing extra refrigerated trucks to store the bodies. They did not tell them about the new casualties that the generals were expecting,” the Ukrainian president said.
“Every Russian soldier can still save his life. It is better to live in Russia than to die on our land,” Zhelensky said.
Russia continues to face difficulties in strategic coordination in Ukraine and its air support is inconsistent, according to data released Saturday by UK intelligence.
A statement from the British Ministry of Defense said that Russia hopes to address the problem of geopolitical warfare, reduce supply lines and simplify command and control.
Russia has been forced to consolidate its failing units in northwestern Ukraine, many of which could be morally weakened, the report added.
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