Minority Allotment In Russia Rejects Kremlin Mobilization, President Zelensky: You Don't Have To Die In Ukraine

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged minority groups across Russia to counter Kremlin mobilization efforts, saying they do not need to die in a "disgrace war".

President Zelensky made the statement in a video of his late address on Thursday, ahead of Russia's announcement of the annexation of four Ukrainian territories.

Non-Russian groups, mainly from the case in southern Russia and from Siberia, were excessively represented in the military contingent sent to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, violent protests against mass mobilization have erupted in some areas hit by poverty.

More than 100 people were detained in protests in Dagestan against the draft last week.

"You don't have to die in Ukraine. Your son doesn't have to die in Ukraine," said President Zelensky, who stood beside a monument in Kyiv to a priest from Kaukasus.

He said Russia had been isolated by the war solely sought by President Vladimir Putin, who "will not stop" in the first batch of mobilization.

"There will be more. He will try to take more lives. No one is obliged to take part in an embarrassing war," he explained.

According to public data on military casualties collected by Russian investigative outlet iStories, soldiers from Buryatia, on the border with Mongolia and Dagestan, the area of Muslim majority in the Kaspia Sea, has suffered the highest death rate in the conflict.

Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that all the mistakes made in mobilization to strengthen Russian military operations in Ukraine must be corrected, his first public admission that the partial mobilization he announced last week did not go smoothly.

There is an widespread public dissatisfaction expression from officials and residents over the way mobilization is handled, including complaints about registration officers sending summons to people who clearly do not meet the requirements.

That resulted in thousands of men having fled from Russia, to avoid military service deemed to be registration of those with the required military experience and specialization. However, it often appears to ignore individual service records, health, student status, or even age.

"In this mobilization, there are many questions that arise, and all mistakes must be corrected and prevented so that they do not occur in the future," said President Putin.

"For example, I think of fathers of many children, or people suffering from chronic diseases, or those who have passed the mandatory military age," he said.