NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has highlighted Russia's "absolutely staggering" losses in its war against Ukraine and warned young Russians against joining the hostilities.
He made the statement during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Rutte pointed to Russia's substantial losses – more than 30,000 – saying that Russia loses more soldiers in one month than the Soviet Union lost in ten years of the war in Afghanistan.
"I have to say something here. But I need to say it to young Russians and their families. You're being sold a raw deal. Men like you who join the fight – you won't be trained. The equipment they'll provide you is substandard. There is a very high chance you'll die or be wounded while you're out there – and odds are that if you are wounded, you'll be left to suffer in the mud and die," he warned.
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