Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared in his New Year’s message that victory over Ukraine was inevitable, but acknowledged that the situation on the front lines remained difficult. He also spoke out in his speech against “those who try to erase our glorious history and our great achievements, destroy monuments to the victors over fascism, put war criminals on a pedestal and erase and desecrate everything Russian.”
Kiev Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov meanwhile warned with a video in Russian of a new mobilization by the Kremlin at the beginning of the year and promised that Ukraine would not give up. Resnikov said in the YouTube video that there was a choice between evading military service or dying in Ukraine or becoming a “cripple”.
“A week to make a decision”
Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country last fall to avoid the partial mobilization ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Putin recently said that no new mobilization was necessary. “I know very well that you still have a week to make a choice,” said Resnikov. Then the borders would be closed so that no one could leave the country.
The celebrations of the New Year are a good occasion to reflect and realize that the Kremlin has lost the war, the Ukrainian minister said. There is nothing worth fighting for. In his New Year’s speech, the minister listed the number of Russian defeats this year. He mentioned, for example, the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s flagship Moskva and the explosions at military airfields in the Russian hinterland.