Ukraine war: Kyiv would only fall ‘if carpet bombed’ by Russia, Zelenskyy says
Speaking at a news conference Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia would have to carpet-bomb the Ukrainian capital and kill its residents to take the city.
He added that “if that is their goal, let them come.”
Zelenskyy said that “if they carry out carpet bombings and wipe off the historic memory of the entire region, the history of Kyivan Rus’, the history of Europe, they could enter Kyiv.”
Meanwhile, the Russian troops are attempting to encircle Kyiv further, fighting against heavy resistance in the west and the north of the city.
And after twelve days of siege, the strategic southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is without water, gas, electricity or communications, and people were seen fighting for food in recent days. The situation is “almost desperate”, warned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The number of civilians killed during the siege of Mariupol reached 1,582, and some of the casualties had to be buried in mass graves. Local authorities fear that the actual number might be much higher.
More than 2.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, say the latest figures from the UN migration agency and refugee agency.
AP, AFP
