Lagatar24 Desk
Kyiv, Feb 25: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday promised to remain in Kyiv as his troops fought Russian invaders advancing near the city in the largest offensive on a European country since World War II.
Following President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of war, Russia began an invasion by land, air, and sea on Thursday. As explosions and gunfire rocked major cities, an estimated 100,000 people fled. Hundreds of people have been slain, according to reports.
Russia is attempting to conquer Kyiv and overthrow the government, according to US and Ukrainian authorities. Russia captured the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant north of Kyiv on Thursday, along the shortest path to the capital from Belarus, where Moscow has deployed troops.
“(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target,” Zelensky warned in a video message. “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.”
Putin claims that Russia is conducting “a special military operation” in Ukraine to safeguard people, including Russian citizens, who are being subjected to “genocide,” an accusation the West dismisses as unsubstantiated propaganda.
