My name is Oleksiy Reznikov, I am the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. On the eve of the New Year, I appeal to the citizens of Russia who are liable for military service. First of all, this concerns residents of large Russian cities. I know for sure that you have about one week left, while there is still at least some choice. In early January, the Russian authorities will close the borders for men, then declare martial law and begin another wave of mobilization. The borders will also be closed to Belarus.
Today you are thinking about how to decorate the festive table and make your plans, but during the chiming clock you may not hear a knock on the door. This will knock the commissar.
Especially in the cities, because in the outback many have already been taken away. Your leaders are unlikely to say this in New Year's addresses, so listen carefully to what I tell you. I do not urge you to take my word for it, I want you to ask yourself just one question and answer it honestly. When you go to war, where you can die or become crippled for the rest of your life, what exactly will you fight for? Are you personally?
Ten months ago, your leadership and propagandists on TV were saying that there are some goals for the so-called special military operation and that everything is going according to plan. Now they keep quiet about it. Because they will have to accept one of the two. First, that according to their own plan, the flagship of the Russian fleet was destroyed for the first time in a hundred years. Long-range aircraft explode at airfields in the interior of Russia. The irretrievable losses of the Russian army are already more than 100 thousand people. In order to combine these losses, they have already carried out one wave of mobilization, although back in the summer they categorically denied that it would be, and deceived. According to the same plan, tens of thousands of prisoners are recruited in the zones into a private military company. The owner of this company is allowed to wipe his feet on the regular Russian military, although ordinary people are thrown into prison for discrediting the army. According to this plan, the small Ukrainian town of Bakhmut has been unsuccessfully stormed for half a year, putting tens of thousands of soldiers there. Previously, thousands of soldiers were put on the right bank of the Dnieper, and then they fled from Kherson. As before, they fled from the Kharkov region, from near Kyiv, from the Chernihiv region and from the Sumy region. That, according to this plan, Sweden and Finland are completing their accession to NATO, although exactly a year ago people in these countries did not even think about NATO and wanted to remain neutral. According to this plan, in the spring it was forbidden to pronounce the word "war", but today it is spoken openly.
I can list for a long time, but even from this it follows that if the plan was such, it could only be made by the enemies of Russia. Either those who sit in the Kremlin and the bunkers must admit something else: that their plan has failed, that they have lost. And because of their failure, Russia has lost its prestige in the world. People with a Russian passport are now despised not only in Europe, but also in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Although a year ago everything was different. The leadership of Russia has long understood that the idea of a war against Ukraine turned out to be a disaster for them. And it is in the interests of Russia to end this war as soon as possible, but they cannot admit this to you, because then they will have to answer for everything.
What is happening now? What are they doing? Those people who unleashed the bloody massacre, who committed terrible war crimes, are now telling you that you need to rally and defend Russia, because there are enemies all around. They intimidate you with the fact that in the event of a defeat, they will allegedly inflict reprisals on all Russians, take away what they have acquired through overwork, organize a tribunal, and so on. It's a lie. You are being deceived again. In fact, they do not want to protect Russia, they are protecting themselves. Your position, your property, your wealth. And for this they want to shift their blame on you. Make you partners in crime. The only reason you'll be sent to war is to protect criminals. Their palaces, their bank accounts. And they themselves became criminals. You can die or lose your health solely for the sake of these people not being held accountable. Thousands of Russians mobilized in the fall have already died. Many thousands became disabled just to protect these criminals. The Kremlin no longer has any goals in this war. They may tell you that there is some plan B, some secret weapon, that the victories will start again soon. But their whole plan is to prolong the war in order to kill as many people as possible and drive the situation to a standstill. You will go to die just for this.
Now I will say not as a defense minister, but as a lawyer. All citizens of Russia will certainly pay indirectly for the unleashed war. Because of the current leaders, Russia will be forced to compensate for the damage done to Ukraine for several generations. It's unavoidable. But there is a huge difference. Those who did not personally participate in crimes, who did not incite war, will lose only part of the income and part of the comfort. It's true.
But as long as you personally have not committed crimes, you have nothing to fear, even if you voted for the current government.
Only war criminals will go under the tribunal. This is the truth that the Kremlin is very afraid of, and that is hidden from the citizens of Russia, deceiving you again and again. If the war drags on, your personal chances of dying will increase. Because the next wave of mobilization will follow. Then more. And the one who sits in the bunker does not care how many Russians die. The main thing is not to get to them. But the longer this war lasts, the more difficult the consequences will be for ordinary people, for ordinary Russians.
The Ukrainians will not retreat. We protect our land, our relatives, our homes. Therefore, honestly answer yourself: do you want to die next year or be left without arms, without legs, so that someone else does not go to jail? Do your loved ones want to delay the beginning of the tribunal over murderers, rapists, robbers who deceive you at the cost of your life or health? If you want, then take the agenda and go to the army. Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield will popularly explain to you what mistake you made. If you don't want to, avoid mobilization by any means. When the bunker chiefs fail to muster and send a new batch of mobilized to the slaughter, they will be forced to admit defeat, and the war will end. It will happen anyway – the only question is the price, and whether this price will be paid with your blood. Celebrating the New Year with loved ones is a good time to reflect on it all. If in a year you want to sit at the table with family and friends, think and make the right decision.
