President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russians to "protest, fight back, run away or surrender to Ukraine" in his daily address. "You are already complicit in all these crimes, murders, and torture of Ukrainians because you remain silent. It's time for you to choose, for men to choose to die or to live," Zelensky said in Russian.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Sept. 21 that Russians who don't want to fight should surrender. "If you don't want to return to Russia, then, according to the Geneva Conventions and Ukrainian law, no one will transfer you back to Russia," she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Sept. 21, announced a "partial mobilization" to send 300,000 new soldiers to fight against Ukraine. According to Novaya Gazeta, the Russian government plans to mobilize around 1 million people to fight against Ukraine, according to a secret provision.
