Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on mothers of Russian soldiers to stop sending their sons to war in Ukraine.
“I want to say this once again to Russian mothers, especially mothers of soldiers. Do not send your children to war in a foreign country,” Zelensky said in a video address released on Telegram.
“Check where your son is. And if you have the slightest doubt that your son may be sent to war against Ukraine, act immediately” so that he is not killed or captured, he said.
“Ukraine never wanted this terrible war. And Ukraine doesn’t want it. But it will defend it as much as it needs,” he said.
On Wednesday, Russia acknowledged the presence of soldiers in Ukraine for the first time and announced that many of them had been held captive.
Moscow had earlier claimed that only professional soldiers were fighting there.
The announcement came as the news of mothers sending their sons to Ukraine multiplied on social networks.
Kyiv invited mothers of Russian soldiers captured on its territory last week to come and pick up their children.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry published the phone number and an email through which they could obtain information about them.
Kyiv claims to have taken dozens of prisoners since the start of the Russian offensive.
During the conflict between Moscow and Chechen separatists in the 1990s and 2000s, many young Russian soldiers were sent to the front, and some were taken captive.
In a movement fueling anti-war protests in Russia at the time, women rallied to try to bring back their sons or get their bodies back—even going to Chechnya itself.
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