Kyiv, Ukraine

Warning Russians that their president was knowingly "sending them to their death," in his address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appeal to them to surrender on getting opportunity.

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Calling on Moscow's forces to surrender, Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces would “liberate our entire country.”

"It is better to run away from a criminal mobilisation than to be crippled and then held responsible in court for participating in a war of aggression," he added.

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Zelensky also chided Israel for its reluctance to send weapons while saying that it would help Ukraine as much as it could.

Israel's Iron Dome system which is effectively used to intercept rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza, has been mentioned often by Zelensky as it would help counter Russian missiles.

Also read | Putin fires deputy defence chief after supply failures in Ukraine

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After the attacks on areas from Crimea to the Donetsk region, Ukraine has been clawing back territory in a counter-offensive.

Following the partial mobilisation President Vladimir Putin ordered this week, Russia also passed a law toughening punishments for voluntary surrender and desertion.

Replacing its top logistics general on Saturday after a series of setbacks, Putin also announced a military draft this week to enlist 300,000 troops to fight in Ukraine.

With Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov saying that regions of Ukraine where widely-derided referendums are being held would be under Russia's "full protection" if annexed by Moscow, Russia has sought to defend its seven-month-old war at the United Nations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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