Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Friday that the “enemy”, Russia, has marked him as the number one target and his family as the number two target.
,[The] The enemy has marked me as the number one target,” Zelensky warned in a video message.
“My family is my number two goal. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of stateVolodymyr Zelensky was quoted by Reuters at a press conference early Friday.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky said that he and his family would not leave Ukraine. Zelensky vowed to stay in Kiev as his troops battle Russian invaders, who are marching toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War II.
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“I will live in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia launched its offensive by land, air and sea on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin declared war. An estimated 100,000 people fled due to explosions and gunfire in major cities.
Zelensky said that 137 military personnel and civilians have been killed in the fighting so far, while hundreds of others have been injured. Ukrainian officials previously reported at least 70 people had been killed.
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Condemning the shelling by Russian troops in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said, “What do we hear today? It’s not just rocket explosions, fighting and aircraft roars. There is a voice to shut down. The civilized world.”
VIDEO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says the ‘new iron curtain’ is cutting Russia.
“What do we hear today? It’s not just rocket explosions, fighting and the roar of planes. It’s the sound of a new iron curtain reducing and shutting down Russia from the civilized world” pic.twitter.com/HZJTG2h7oa
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 25, 2022
According to reports, the Russian army has surrounded the city of Konotop in Ukraine. “Others are moving towards Kiev,” the governor was quoted as saying.
on Thursday, Russian army captures Chernobyl nuclear power plant, “It is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a completely pointless attack by the Russians,” Mykhailo Podolik, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Washington and other NATO members have sent military aid to Ukraine, but no steps have been taken to send troops to fight alongside Ukrainian forces for fear of provoking a wider European conflict.