Zelensky visited Kherson and spoke to Ukrainian soldiers

by

“We are moving forward. We are ready for peace, peace for our whole country,” Zelensky told the lined-up soldiers in front of the administration building in the city’s central square.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited today Chersona and he addressed the soldiers who are there, a few days after the forced retreat of the Russian soldiers from this city in the south of the country after months of its occupation.

“We are moving forward. We are ready for peace, peace for our whole country,” Zelensky told the lined-up soldiers in front of the administration building in the city’s central square.

The Ukrainian president thanked NATO and other allies for their support in the war against Russia and said the US deployment of US HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems has made a big difference for Kyiv.

Parents with children, some pushing prams, were also gathered in the main square.

Some waved Ukrainian flags and others had the flag draped over their shoulders.

“I am very happy, you can tell from the reaction of the people, their reaction is not staged,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by a Reuters correspondent in Kherson.

Asked where Ukrainian forces might be advanced, Zelensky replied: “Not in Moscow… We are not interested in another country’s territories.”

A few minutes before he crossed into the city, citizens in the center of Kherson heard shelling. After the end of the president’s speech, many gunshots rang out in the city.

On Friday, Ukrainian troops reached the center of Kherson after Russian troops abandoned the city — the only regional capital they had captured since the start of the Russian invasion.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president announced that investigators have already documented more than 400 war crimes committed by the Russians during the eight-month occupation of the city.

“The bodies of civilians and soldiers were found. The Russian army left behind the same atrocities it committed in other regions of the country where it entered,” Zelensky said.

Reuters has spoken to residents of parts of the formerly occupied region who described killings and hostage-taking among civilians, but has not independently verified the information.

Russia denies that its soldiers are deliberately targeting civilians or that they have committed atrocities in occupied territories. In many other parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, many mass graves have been found — some with signs of torture. Kyiv attributes these findings to Moscow.

RES-EMP

You May Also Like

Recommended for you