Zelensky refuses US offer to leave the country: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has turned down a US offer to withdraw from the capital Kiev, the Ukrainian embassy in the UK said on Saturday on Twitter.

According to the embassy, ​​Zelensky told the US: “The fight is here. I need ammo, not a ride.”

“Ukrainians are proud of their president,” the tweet adds.

In a video posted Saturday morning on Twitter, Zelensky said they are not putting down their weapons.

Zelensky remains a “prime target of Russian aggression,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said late on Thursday amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The statement follows Zelensky’s own words. He said intelligence from the country said he had become a key target in the operation.

Zelensky said on Thursday that “according to our information, the enemy has marked me as target number 1, and my family – target number 2. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kiev.”

Battle intensifies

The battle for control of Kiev, capital of Ukraine, intensifies throughout this Saturday (26). Fighting spreads through the streets, and explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the night as Russian troops advanced on the city.

According to the mayor of the capital Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko, a residential building of more than 20 floors was hit by a missile. Emergency teams rushed to the scene. There is no casualty information.

teams of CNN Americans in the Ukrainian capital report strong explosions west and south of Kiev on Saturday morning. The sky, still dark, lit up with a series of flashes on the horizon.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the capital Kiev was under Ukrainian control. “We have resisted and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fight continues,” he said in a message on social media.

According to the Ukrainian government, a tank and aircraft of the Russian army were destroyed in this morning’s combat. The General Staff of the Armed Forces reported that there were also attacks in other cities.

understand the conflict

After months of military escalation and intemperance on the Ukrainian border, Russia attacked the Eastern European country. At dawn this Thursday (24), Russian forces began to bomb several regions of the country – follow the repercussion live on CNN.

Hours earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a “special military operation” in the Donbas region (eastern Ukraine, where the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are located, which he recognized as independent).

What was seen in the following hours, however, was an attack on almost the entire Ukrainian territory, with explosions in several cities, including the capital Kiev.

According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of deaths have been confirmed in the armies of both countries.

In his speech before the attack, Putin justified the action by saying that Russia could not “tolerate threats from Ukraine”. Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to “put down your weapons and go home”. The Russian leader further stated that he will not accept any kind of foreign interference.

This attack on the former Soviet neighbor threatens to destabilize Europe and involve the United States.

Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine for the past year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery at the country’s gates.

In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have been unsuccessful.

The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has set off the continent’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous confrontation between Western powers and Moscow.

*With information from Sarah Marsh and Madeline Chambers of Reuters and Eliza Mackintosh of CNN

Source: CNN Brasil

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