Reznikov to CADLR residents: The number of dead will soon be in the thousands – save your lives

Valentyna Romanenko — Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 10:49

Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov has called on those living in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (CADLR) not to be accomplices in the Russian occupiers’ inhuman crimes.

Source: Reznikov on Facebook

Quote: "To the residents of Donetsk, Luhansk, Makiivka, Horlivka, Yenakiieve, Alchevsk, Chervonyi Luch, Krasnodon and other cities of our Donbas.

I am addressing the residents of certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that are temporarily occupied by Russia.

The Kremlin has unleashed a full-scale war under the guise that ‘you need to be protected’. You know better than I do what this ‘protection’ has actually turned out to be. Not just for Ukraine as a whole, but for you personally. For your loved ones and neighbours. You know better than I do that in these three weeks of escalation, hundreds of people have been killed in your cities. Ordinary people who were dragged out of factories and mines, handed a rifle and thrown into the line of fire."

Details: In the last few days, the Ukrainian army has increasingly often been capturing people who were forcibly mobilised and thrown into combat as cannon fodder by the Russian occupiers. The scale of forced mobilisation is growing.

Reznikov noted that people mobilised from CADLR are not included in the statistics of Russian army losses, because for Moscow they are merely expendables. The number of CADLR residents who have been killed will soon run into thousands.

The Russian "defenders" are now destroying Mariupol. They have already wiped Volnovakha and several other cities off the face of the earth. There is widespread destruction in the Luhansk region. "It will be completely fine by them if, instead of a flourishing Ukrainian Donbas, there will be nothing left but a bare desert. But will it be fine by you?" the minister asked.

At the same time, Russia’s plans are falling apart. Ukrainian soldiers have already killed more than 15,000 Russian soldiers. Russia will lose this war and fall into chaos.

"We still consider you citizens of Ukraine, just as before. We consider you our own people. If you have committed no crime, you are safe", Reznikov told CADLR residents.

He urged residents of these regions to avoid forced mobilisation in any way possible. Those who are dragged into the Russian army should try to go over to the Ukrainian army as soon as possible.

Quote: "Everyone who has already laid down their arms is safe. We’ll deal with all the formalities. The main thing is to avoid the irreversible and save your lives.

If you have committed crimes but want to escape, run away. Or surrender. But be quick about it.

Genuine remorse will be taken into account. If you surrender with military equipment or help capture a Russian officer, you can count on mitigation of your punishment. And it will be a fair trial, not the kangaroo court they’ve been trying to accustom you to for the last 8 years.

Those who committed crimes will be able to return to normal life after serving their sentence. We’ll need extra hands to rebuild Donbas after cleansing it of the occupiers. And you will be needed by your families and loved ones. This is your chance.

I want to address the mothers, wives and girlfriends of those who may fall into the clutches of the Russian invaders. Hide your loved ones. Shelter them from trouble. They will thank you later and you will rejoice together. Don’t believe Russian propaganda, it only brings sorrow and death. Listen to your heart.

Ukraine will ensure peace and prosperity for all of our regions that are now suffering from war. Together we will achieve this faster.

Remember, the clock is ticking. After Russia’s atrocities in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv, our soldiers are determined to burn out all the invaders and their accomplices with red-hot iron.

Don’t be among them. Don’t make this mistake."