NATO chief warns young Russians directly: “You're being sold a fake story. You'll probably be the ones to die”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned young Russians on Wednesday that they will most likely die if they sign up to take part in Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
“You are being sold a false story,” Rutte told a news conference in Kiev, in a message directly addressed to “young Russians and their families.”
“Men like you who join the fight – you will not be trained. The equipment they will provide you is substandard. There is a very high probability that you will die or be injured while you are there,” the NATO chief said.
“And chances are if you get hurt, you'll be left to suffer in the mud and die,” he warned them.
Rutte also said Russia was suffering “absolutely staggering” losses in Ukraine, where he said more than 30,000 Russian soldiers were dying every month – figures that matched those he had previously mentioned.
“This means losing more people in a single month than the Soviet Union lost in 10 years in Afghanistan in the 1980s,” the NATO chief added.
“It's not something abstract,” Rutte said. “You're being sold a fake story. You're probably going to be the ones who die.”
Russia, which officially describes the conflict as a “special military operation” and promises recruits generous salaries, has long argued that NATO's eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War – as well as the prospect of Ukraine joining the US-led military alliance – poses an existential threat to its security.
