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Though he is enemy's number one target, Ukrainian President vows to stay in capital
The Today Online reported, citing Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders who are advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two.
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government. Russia on Thursday seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv, along the shortest route to the capital from Belarus, where Moscow has staged troops.
Zelenskiy warned in a video message: "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," adding that "my family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state."
"I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine."
Захищаємось! Не зупиняємось! Слава Україні!
Posted by Володимир Зеленський on Thursday, February 24, 2022
Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to "genocide" in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda.
Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy's safety, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: "To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course we're concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine - government officials and others."
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Zelenskiy said on Friday that 137 military personnel and civilians had been killed in the fighting so far, with hundreds of others injured. Ukrainian officials had earlier reported at least 70 people killed.
Washington and other NATO members have sent military aid to Ukraine but there is no move to send troops to fight alongside Ukrainian forces for fear of sparking a wider European conflict.
With heavy fighting being reported on multiple fronts, the United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia's invasion and require Moscow's immediate withdrawal.
However, Moscow can veto the measure, and it was unclear how China, which has rejected calling Russia's move an invasion, would vote.
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The invasion has drawn protests in the United States, Europe and within Russia itself, where authorities detained hundreds of demonstrators who took to the streets on Thursday.
Dmitry Muratov, a Russian newspaper editor who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, told the BBC in an interview that Feb. 24, the day of the invasion, would go down as the day "Russia's future was taken away from it".
"Our peace-loving Russian people will now feel the hatred of the world because we are starting a third world war in the centre of Europe."
Source: todayonline
