Putin blames Ukraine civilian casualties on ‘neo-Nazis’ using ‘human shields’
Vladimir Putin held a moment of silence for Russia’s casualties in the war in Ukraine on Thursday and blamed civilian casualties on “neo-Nazis” he accused of using “human shields”.
In an address to an online meeting of his security council that was broadcast on state television, Russia’s president said he would “never give up my conviction that Russians and Ukrainians are one people” and said Russia’s troops were fighting “heroically”.
The speech marked the first time Putin had addressed the human toll of the week-long war, after Russia’s defence ministry had insisted it was carrying out high-precision strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure while avoiding civilian targets.
Russia said on Wednesday that 498 of its soldiers had been killed and more than 1,500 wounded; Ukraine claims Russia has suffered more than 5,500 casualties.
Russian and Ukrainian military claims cannot be independently verified.
Putin said the families of Russian soldiers who died in battle would receive up to Rbs7.4mn ($65,000) in compensation.
In an apparent response to the criticism of Russia’s increasingly brutal campaign, which has included sustained barrages on civilian areas in cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, Putin said: “The way the battle is going shows we are fighting neo-Nazis.”
Presenting no evidence for his claims, Putin said the “neo-Nazis” had placed heavy artillery in residential neighbourhoods and were fighting alongside “foreign mercenaries, including from the Middle East”.
He also accused the “neo-Nazis” of “holding hostage” Indian and Chinese students in Kharkiv after criticism from those countries’ leaders.
Russian MPs call for antiwar protesters to face military service in Ukraine
Two Russian MPs have submitted a draft law to parliament that would call up for military service in Ukraine any Russians detained for participating in antiwar protests.
The bill, submitted for consideration to the Duma lower house of parliament, proposed to “send for military service in the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics all persons brought to responsibility for participation in unauthorised public events against the use of the armed forces”, the draft law said.
The bill would need to pass through both houses of parliament and be signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin to become law. It was proposed by MPs Andrei Lugovoi and Yaroslav Nilov.
Thousands of Russians have been detained in recent days in antiwar marches across the country. Demonstrations that do not receive prior approval from authorities are illegal in Russia; only one-person picketing is permitted.
“There are people in our country right now who do not agree with the military operation and are willing to break the law in order to stop it,” the draft law said. Such people, it said, should be sent on military service to eastern Ukraine to “see with their own eyes”.
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