The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, has called on Russians who have illegally settled and are living in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea to use the Kerch Bridge and return to Russia. This should be done as soon as possible, as the liberation of the peninsula and the return of Ukraine is now only a matter of time.

The official said this on the air of the UA Razom national telethon. He stressed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counter-offensive has been successful, and the Russians themselves understand that they will not have long to enjoy the occupied resort.

"They understand that it is only a matter of time - when we come, we will drive them out. And I would advise everyone to use the Kerch Bridge, which they have today, as soon as possible to be safe," Danilov said.

He added that once the peninsula is liberated, Russian citizens will not be able to escape via the Ukrainian highway. So let them leave by the road they came there.

"I can say that all those who had property in Crimea before 2014 and lost it after the annexation will get it back. Those who suffered losses will receive compensation for what the Russian institution did there," the NSDC secretary concluded.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that Danilov said that the enemy army lost tens of thousands of people during the battle for Bakhmut. To occupy another quarter of the destroyed city, the invaders literally had to walk over the corpses of their soldiers.

"Since September, when Moscow started using convicts as mercenaries in Bakhmut, 22,816 people have died. Our losses were 7.5 times less. We have no right to surrender our cities. They would have won without resistance," the NSDC Secretary is convinced.

Danilov also outlined the task of the counter-offensive for the Ukrainian Armed Forces: our soldiers are simultaneously conducting both offensive and defensive actions. At the same time, Russian troops are trying to actively counteract the offensive of the Defence Forces.

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