Zelensky weighs in on Russian governor's denial of heavy losses in Donetsk region: 'I guess he can see better from Vladivostok'
In an address on November 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the reports from marines in the 155th Brigade of Russia's Pacific Fleet that they lost hundreds of men in just four days during an offensive in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
At the start of his address, Zelensky said in Ukrainian that hundreds of Russian soldiers are dying each day in the Donetsk region, and that the territory is “piled with the bodies of occupiers.” Then, switching to Russian, he recounted how the marines from Russia’s Primorsky Krai had complained of “huge losses” to their governor, Oleg Kozhemyako, and said he had “predictably lied” in response, claiming that “the losses were far lower” than the marines’ claimed.
From Vladivostok (Editor’s note: the regional capital of Primorsky Krai) to Pavlivka in the Donetsk region is more than 9,000 kilometers (about 5,600 miles). But [the governor] is confident that the losses were “far lower.” The governor can probably see better from there how many soldiers from his region are being sent into battle. Or, on the other hand, perhaps he was simply given orders to lie. Orders from Moscow. That’s how an order to lie about Russian losses overcomes thousands of kilometers. And the bodies of most of these dead soldiers won’t even be brought to Vladivostok. But I’m sure Governor Kozhemyako will come out and explain why not all of them made it.
Zelensky called on Russian citizens to hold public protests and on mobilized soldiers to surrender to Ukraine in order to save their own lives.
On November 6, multiple Russian “war correspondents” posted a message from marines in the 155th Brigade of Russia's Pacific Fleet who had taken part in an offensive in the village of Pavlivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The marines alleged that their unit had lost approximately 300 people and half of their equipment in just four days, accusing their commanders of launching an “incomprehensible” maneuver.