Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, promised that the circumstances of how the Russian soldiers would be captured would not be revealed.

He stated this during his evening address on September 24.

Zelensky once again addressed the Russians with regard to the mobilization, which was announced by the Russian Federation on September 21. He urged Russian citizens not to accept summonses and if they find themselves in Ukraine, to surrender.

At the same time, Ukraine will comply with all international norms.

“First, you will be treated in a civilized manner, in accordance with all the conventions. Secondly, noone will find out the circumstances of how exactly you surrendered. Noone in Russia will find out if your surrender was voluntary. And thirdly, if you are afraid to return to Russia and would not want to be exchanged, we will find a way to ensure that as well. Ukraine will do everything for its victory, and every citizen of Russia must understand that no tricks will help the invader,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

This address by the President of Ukraine is also connected to the recent updates to Russian legislation. On September 24, Putin signed amendments to the legislation that introduce criminal charges for voluntary surrender and looting.

Changes to Russian legislation

Voluntary surrender is now punishable by 3 to 10 years in prison under Russian regulations unless there are signs of treason. Looting would be punished with imprisonment for up to 15 years.

Also, the document lists aggravating circumstances, which include the following concept – the crime was committed “during the period of mobilization or martial law, in wartime.”

In addition, the punishment for “voluntarily leaving a part during the period of mobilization and martial law” was increased. The absence from 2 to 10 days causes punishment of 5 years of imprisonment, from 10 to one month – 7 years of imprisonment, and more than a month – up to 10 years of imprisonment.

The new Russian legislation also assumes punishment for subordinates’ failure to comply with commanders’ orders. This, along with the refusal to participate in hostilities, leads to imprisonment for 2 to 3 years.

If there are aggravating circumstances, the punishment can be increased to 10 years.

The day before, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the occupation authorities started serving mobilization summonses to men who received passports of the Russian Federation as part of the “partial mobilization”.

The assessment of the impact of Russian mobilization on Russia’s war against Ukraine is discussed in the new episode of the “To Arms” project on Militarnyi.