The Ukrainian president has said that Moscow wants to destroy his country politically “by destroying the head of state”
Zelensky says he is Russia’s ‘number-one target’
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a press conference on Russia's military operation in Ukraine, on February 25, 2022 in Kyiv. © Presidency of Ukraine / Handout / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia has marked him as its number-one target in order “to politically destroy Ukraine.”
In his evening address after the first day of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Zelensky called on his nation not to believe “fakes” about his alleged departure from Kiev. He said that he was in Kiev conducting dozens of international negotiations and directly leading the defense.
The president confirmed that his family also remained in Ukraine, though he said he had “no right” to disclose their whereabouts.
“According to our information, the enemy marked me as the number-one target. My family is the number-two goal. They want to politically destroy Ukraine by destroying the head of state,” Zelensky said.
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On Friday morning, an aide to the head of the president’s office, Mikhail Podolyak, confirmed that Zelensky remained in Kiev. He said the president was demonstrating what he meant by the “resilience of the Ukrainian people.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said earlier that their countries would take measures to ensure Zelensky’s safety if such a necessity arose. Johnson went still further, saying the UK would back the Ukrainian government if it were forced into exile.
Moscow launched a military attack against Ukraine on Thursday with the stated goal of demilitarizing it. The offensive has prompted an international outcry and the imposition of new sanctions by the US, the EU, the UK, and a number of other countries.
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Zelensky suggests he and Putin negotiate
The Ukrainian president has formally invited his Russian counterpart to engage in diplomatic talks over the current crisis
Zelensky suggests he and Putin negotiate
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. © Matt Dunham - Pool / Getty Images
Speaking on Friday, the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, extended an olive branch to Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposing negotiations, as fighting continues throughout the country and clashes get closer to the country’s capital, Kiev.
“I want to again address the president of the Russian Federation. The fighting continues all over Ukraine. Let’s sit at the negotiation table to stop human fatalities,” Zelensky said, following a statement from his adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, who claimed Kiev “has always left and [still] leaves space for negotiations” despite a “full-scale invasion” by Russian troops.
Earlier on Friday, Podolyak had stated that “if negotiations are possible, they must be held,” making clear that Zelensky and his government were willing to discuss the nation’s “neutrality status,” should Moscow demand it.
Alongside the offer of talks with Russia, Zelensky took a swipe at fellow European countries, which he claimed had not shown themselves to be ready to fight with his nation or to “see Ukraine in NATO.”
Following Zelensky’s offer, Chinese Central Television reported that, in a telephone call with China’s president, Xi Jinping, Putin had stated that his government was ready to negotiate at a high level with Ukraine. No details were immediately released as to what concessions or assurances the Russian leader might seek to secure from his Ukrainian counterpart.
The statement comes as fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continued overnight, after Putin ordered troops into Ukraine with the expressed aim of seeking to “demilitarize” Zelensky’s armed forces. The EU, the UK, the US, and NATO have all condemned Russia’s actions as an “unprovoked” attack, imposing sanctions on the country in retaliation.
