For Russia’s number one goal, this was perhaps the only safe place to meet with the world’s media.
The President of Ukraine appeared with his feet forward, descending a moving escalator to the platform of an underground railway station, deep under the streets of Kyiv, surrounded by soldiers.
Hundreds of journalists sat in front of him, standing up, fighting for a good view.
Seated in a chair and interrupted by a strange passing train, Vladimir Zelensky asked for two hours about the Russian war, the prospect of peace talks with Vladimir Putin, and the need for the West to continue supplying weapons or risk destroying Ukraine.
Live news for Ukraine: “Bad morale and limited time for reorganization” preventing Russian attack
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:54 “My family is scared,” Zelenski says as the train passes
He also revealed – perhaps to the surprise of the White House security team – that the US Secretary of State and the US Secretary of Defense will visit the Ukrainian capital on Sunday, a top-level trip by members of Joe Biden’s administration after the invasion.
The US president himself will apparently also come, as security conditions allow, Zelensky added, although he warned all foreign leaders to visit Kyiv only if they had something to offer to help with the military effort.
“We are not a country for tragic selfies,” he said meaningfully.
Speaking for almost two months to an hour since Russian missiles began to smash Ukrainian cities and Russian tanks crossed the country’s borders, Mr Zelensky did not try to hide his anger and contempt for the horrors of his people.
He cited an attack on the port city of Odessa on Saturday, saying a three-month-old baby was among eight killed in cruise missile strikes.
“The war started when this baby was one month old,” the president said in an emotional voice.
“Can you imagine what’s going on? They’re just with ****** … I have no other words for that, just with ***.”
However, he said he understood the need to still be ready to speak face-to-face with Mr Putin if there was a chance to find a diplomatic way to end the bloodshed.
“Regarding the meeting with the Russian president, I did not say ‘I want’ – I have to see the president if we plan to resolve this issue through diplomacy,” he said in response to a question from Sky News.
However, he warned separately that there would be no talks if Russia killed Ukrainian fighters in a fortress of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Read more: The war in Ukraine: Dozens of Russian troops move from Mariupol
Image: Mr. Zelensky remained in Kyiv, despite the advice of Western intelligence agencies
The same would be true if Russia tried to hold fake referendums on territories seized by its forces to give the impression that the people there wanted to be part of Russia, not Ukraine. This was a tactic used by Moscow in 2014 when it annexed Crimea.
“If our people are killed in Mariupol, if they call a referendum – a pseudo-referendum – in the new pseudo-republics, Ukraine will not participate in any negotiation processes,” Zelensky said.
He thanked Western allies, who are checking the names of the United States and the United Kingdom, for arming his army, and said he believed it would continue, but spoke candidly about what would happen if the flow of Western weapons dried up.
“They [western allies] they have no alternative. We will not give them that opportunity. We have no choice but to defend our land and get it back. What would be the other choice? It would be that we don’t have a state, we don’t have people, it will be just burnt land, “he told Sky News.
The Ukrainian leader had some criticism of the UN chief about the chronology of his planned trip to the region this week to try to cultivate peace talks.
Antonio Guterres will meet with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday before leaving for Kyiv for talks with Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president said he had to plan his trip back.
“It is quite logical to first see … the consequences of the hostilities and with this attempt to go to the Russian Federation,” he said.
As for his own safety, Mr Zelenski said he was not particularly worried, but the people around him were.
“I’m not very scared – my bodyguards are very scared, to be honest, and my family is horrified, to be honest.”
Follow the daily podcast of Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
He chose – against the advice of Western intelligence agencies – to stay in Kyiv when the war began in the early hours of February 24, from where he gave nightly addresses to his country instead of retreating to the west.
After the media session of the marathon, the president said goodbye and stood up. His bodyguards immediately settled in, providing a protective ring as he walked back up the escalator and away.
Add Comment