‘Putin not mad, just evil’
Zelensky says world to blame for not stopping ’sane murderer’ years ago
KYIV: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is no madman but a murderous aggressor enabled by the world’s failure to curb his behaviour in the years before the Ukraine invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian President ruled out any territorial concessions in order to buy peace with Moscow, an outcome that has been suggested by Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and other leaders.
“It seems to me the scariest
thing about it is that he is in fact sane, and he understands what he’s doing,” Mr Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News’ Piers Morgan in Kyiv.
“He knows how many people he kills. He knows how many people were raped, and by who, and the number of children killed or deported.
“The world allowed this situation to develop; it allowed such a person to emerge, with that ideology and attitude towards people. The world should understand that this result, this mistake, is the responsibility of the whole world.”
Ukrainians could never countenance the surrender of land to appease Putin, Mr Zelensky said, adding that his citizens “hate” the invaders.
“They hate and it is understandable. When so many families have lost their neighbours, their children. Can Russia give a child back? There are no emotions, only one emotion – hate,” he said.
“We are not prepared to exchange or trade the territory of the state of Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had restarted operations at its blockaded Black Sea ports as it moved closer to resuming grain exports.
Ukraine’s navy said “work has resumed” at the export hubs to prepare for ships to be escorted through the mineinfested waters to take more than 20 million tonnes of grain to world markets.
A Russian missile strike on the weekend in Odesa jeopardised the deal to allow the ships out of the ports, and fighting has continued to rage.
Kyiv struck back by hitting the vital Antonivskiy bridge over the Dnipro river in a move that threatens to cut supply lines to Russian troops as Ukrainian forces look to wrest back the Kherson region.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Twitter the strikes on bridges over the Dnipro created an “impossible dilemma” for Russia: “Retreat or be annihilated by the Ukrainian army”.