Zelenskiy: Russian occupiers will only enter Kyiv if they wipe out every Ukrainian

Denys Karlovsky – Saturday, 12 March 2022, 16:36

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy believes that Russian troops will only be able to enter Kyiv if they wipe out every Ukrainian in the city.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a press conference for the foreign media

According to Zelenskiy: "If hundreds of thousands of people come, or the tens of thousands of soldiers whom Russia is now mobilising come, and if they come with hundreds or thousands of tanks – they will enter Kyiv. We understand that.

If they carpet bomb the city, if they decide to erase, simply erase, the historical memory of the entire region – the history of Kyivan Rus, the history of Europe – they will enter Kyiv.

If they wipe us out – they will enter Kyiv.

If that is their goal – then let them enter, but they will have to live in this land by themselves, without any of us. They will not find friends among us."

Background: 

• British intelligence and the UK Ministry of Defence have reported seeing weapons and equipment being dispersed from the Russian column measuring several kilometres long north of Kiev. They believe that the occupying forces are preparing a second attack on Kyiv. Satellite images confirm this information.
• Former NATO official Rose Gottemoeller does not believe that Russian troops will be able to take Kyiv.
• According to the Ukrainian authorities, anti-retreat detachments of Chechen paramilitaries near Kyiv are killing Russian soldiers who attempt to retreat.
• Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klychko said that half of residents had left the city and the capital had been turned into a fortress. Military chiefs expect an attack by Russian forces along the highways leading to the capital from the northwest, west and northeast.
• The most recent battle between the Russian and Ukrainian forces in Kyiv took place on 26 February. Despite the capital’s defence, the Russian occupiers seized most of Kyiv’s northwestern suburbs, destroying civilian infrastructure and killing civilians. The occupying troops also fought the Ukrainian army in the Brovary district.