Ukraine's president calls on mothers of Russian soldiers to stop sending their children to 'war'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Saturday the mothers of Russian soldiers to prevent sending their sons to "war" in Ukraine.

"I want to say this again to Russian mothers, especially to the mothers of conscripts," Zelensky said in a telegram message. "Do not send your children to war in a foreign country."

"Check the whereabouts of your children. If you have any doubts that your children can be sent to war against Ukraine, act immediately" to prevent them being killed or kidnapped, he added.

"Ukraine never wanted this terrible war. Ukraine does not want it. But it will defend itself as much as it takes," Zelensky said.

On Wednesday, Russia acknowledged, for the first time, the presence of conscripts in Ukraine, and announced that a number of them had been captured.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has published phone numbers and e-mails through which mothers can obtain information about their sons imprisoned in Ukraine.

In a televised address, the Ukrainian president said that a total of 7,144 people were evacuated from four Ukrainian cities on Friday, much less than the number that managed to leave on each of the previous two days.

Zelensky accused Russia of refusing to let people out of the besieged city of Mariupol, and said Ukraine would try again to get food and medicine there on Saturday.

On Friday, President Zelensky praised the Poles and the "very strong union" that forged between the two countries in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine.

In a long video message addressed to his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, Parliament and the Polish people, Zelensky said: "When someone hurts you, it is very important to have someone to lean on, and when the enemy steps into your house, to have someone reach out for you." On the morning of the twenty-fourth of February, I had no doubts as to who would say to me 'Brother, you will not find yourself alone in the face of the enemy'.'

"And that's exactly what happened. I am grateful for that. Our Polish brothers and sisters are with us," recalling that Poland currently hosts "more than one and a half million Ukrainian citizens, the vast majority of whom are women and children."

Zelensky stressed that these refugees "do not feel like visitors. You welcomed them into your families with fraternal affection and kindness."

He added that "peace between brothers" unites the two countries, saying: "I hope that these words will be heard by our neighbors, the people of Belarus," Russia's ally.

He concluded: "Together we are 90 million people (...) It is a historic task for Poland and Ukraine to form the leadership that will lead Europe tomorrow out of this abyss, save it from this threat, and prevent Europe from becoming a victim."

At the beginning of the week, Poland proposed handing over the MiG-29s to the US military for transfer to Ukraine, an offer that Washington rejected, considering that it might provoke an escalation on the part of Russia.

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