Volodymyr Zelensky says he is Putin’s No. 1 target, hits out at U.S. of watching the war from far
The President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he intends to stay in Kyiv even as his troops engage Russian troops in loosing battles. Russian Army has already entered the Northern Districts of Kyiv.
He said that he and his family are Number 1 and Number 2 target of President of Russia – Vladimir Putin. He also said the invasion is the biggest attack since World War II.
Zelensky said in a video message, “[The] enemy has marked me down as the number one target. My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.”
He further said, “I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine.”
He also hit out at United States (U.S.) saying that Ukraine is defending its sovereignty alone.
Referring to U.S., he said, “This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance.”
Meanwhile, Russian troops have seized the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, some 90 km. (56 miles) north of Kyiv. A total of 194 people, including 57 civilians have been killed in the fighting, with hundreds wounded. Ukrainian forces downed an aircraft over Kyiv early on Friday, which then crashed into a residential building and set it on fire. A missile hit a Ukrainian border post in the South Eastern region of Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky has urged the people of his country to take weapons in hand and defend their country.
Taking it to twitter, he tweeted,
We will lift sanctions on all citizens of Ukraine who are ready to defend our country as part of territorial defense with weapons in hands.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2022
While the United States (U.S.) has sent military aid to Ukraine, it has not sent troops as it would scale-up the war. The Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom (U.K.) – Ben Wallace has also said that U.K. will not send troops to Ukraine as it would lead to a European war.
Zelensky has once again called for direct talks with Putin. However, the Foreign Minister of Russia – Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow will only hold talks with Kyiv once Ukraine’s military has laid down its arms.
Besides, Poland is seeing a huge rise in the number of people crossing into the country from Ukraine. More than 29,000 people have passed through the border crossing ever since Russian launched attack on Ukraine. Poland is preparing to accommodate largen number of Ukrainians by setting up reception centers near the border.
Separately, the West has imposed a host of sanctions on Russia. The U.S. sanctions include export blocks on technology, which includes semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies. It has also imposed sanctions on Russian banks and people close to Kremlin. It will also cut off 13 major state-owned companies from raising money in the U.S., including energy giant Gazprom and Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution. The U.S. has also vowed to sanction two dozen Belarusian individuals and companies.
The U.K. is set to sanction 100 individuals and entities. An asset freeze will be imposed on Russian state bank VTB. Russian state and private companies will also be prevented from fundraising. The U.K. also banned Russia’s national carrier – Aeroflot. It is also bringing in legislation to ban the export of certain technologies to Russia.
The President of European Union (E.U.) – Ursula von der Leyen has announced sanctions that will impact Russia’s financial, energy and transport sectors, and include export controls and trade financing bans. She said they will now target 70% of the Russian banking sector and key state-owned companies and would make it impossible for Russia to upgrade its oil refineries. Sanctions on technology will also be imposed.
Sending out a clear message to Putin, she tweeted,
These events mark the beginning of a new era.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 25, 2022
Putin is trying to subjugate a friendly European country.
He is trying to redraw the map of Europe by force.
He must and he will fail. pic.twitter.com/ubVpcw0WNL
Zelensky thanked Ursula over phone for the sanctions. However, he also said that these sanctions are not enough. More pressure should be created on Putin.
He tweeted,
Not all possibilities for sanctions have been exhausted yet. The pressure on Russia must increase. Said this to @Vonderleyen. I am grateful to the President for her decision on additional financial assistance.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2022
