Russia escalated its military and political campaign Thursday to capture Ukrainian territory, rounding up Russian army reservists to fight, preparing votes on annexing occupied areas and launching new deadly attacks. A day after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to bolster his troops in Ukraine, dramatic scenes of tearful families bidding farewell to men departing from military mobilization centers…
“You are already accomplices in all these crimes, murders and torture of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said, wearing a black T-shirt that said in English: “We Stand with Ukraine,” instead of his signature olive drab T-shirt. He said Russians' options to survive are to “protest, fight back, run away or surrender to Ukrainian captivity.”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser offered concrete support to potential deserters. She told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that anyone who “courageously opposes Putin’s regime and therefore puts himself in the greatest danger” can apply for asylum in Germany. On the battlefield, Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged missile and artillery barrages as both sides refused to concede ground.
While the hostilities continued, the two sides managed to agree on a major prisoner swap. Ukrainian officials announced the exchange of 215 Ukrainian and foreign fighters — 200 of them for a single person, an ally of Putin's. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, confirmed that pro-Russian Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, was part of the swap.
“We just want to let everyone know that we’re now out of the danger zone and we’re on our way home to our families,” Aslin said in the video, as Pinner added: “By the skin of our teeth.”
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