What Russia is doing with Mariupol “will be remembered for centuries”, says Zelensky

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian attack on the city of Mariupol is an “act of terror” that will be “remembered for centuries”. In a video message posted on Facebook earlier this Sunday (20), Zelensky said the port city will go down in history as an example of war crimes.

Earlier on Saturday (19), Zelensky addressed the Swiss people through a video in which he said Switzerland supported European Union sanctions against Moscow, and urged the country to take more action against Russia.

“This means a lot to the Russian state apparatus, to people who are used to thinking that power is money,” he said in the Facebook message.

The Ukrainian president added that he asked Switzerland to take additional measures, such as ensuring that Swiss companies that have not yet left the Russian market do so immediately. In the speech, he highlighted the Swiss company Nestlé, which did not suspend operations in Russia.

Zelensky says Russia suffered ‘unprecedented losses’

The Ukrainian president also said on Sunday that the Russian military suffered “unprecedented losses” and that some Russian units were “destroyed by 80 to 90 percent”.

“Ukrainians have proven that they can fight more professionally than an army that has been waging wars for decades in various regions and conditions. We responded with wisdom and courage to the large number of their equipment and soldiers sent to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video posted on social media.

He then switched to speaking Russian and said that in areas where heavy fighting has taken place, the front line of defense is “full of dead bodies of Russian soldiers”. “And these corpses, these corpses, are not being collected by anyone. New units are being sent to advance on them,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Zelensky said eight humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians were operating on Saturday, but due to Russian bombing, authorities were unable to rescue people from Borodyanka, in the Kiev region.

Authorities were also unable to deliver humanitarian aid to towns in the southern Kherson region.

“Russian troops blocked our convoy. Because? Their objective remains the same. Once again, they are trying to create an image for their propaganda as if Ukraine has left its citizens without the essentials, as if Russia is constantly rescuing them from something,” Zelensky said.

THE CNN did not independently verify Zelensky’s claims of significant Russian losses.