Accessibility links

Breaking News

Zelenskiy Says Situation In Kharkiv 'Just As Terrible' As Other Areas Where Russia Withdrew


Police officers inspect a crater left by a part of an intercepted Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 8. Zelenskiy also said his country has only 10 percent of what it needs for its air defense to repel Russian air strikes.
Police officers inspect a crater left by a part of an intercepted Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 8. Zelenskiy also said his country has only 10 percent of what it needs for its air defense to repel Russian air strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has again ruled out talks with Russia to end Moscow's war against his country and said the situation in the recently liberated Kharkiv region is "just as terrible" as it was after Russian troops retreated from the towns of Irpin and Bucha, where mass graves were discovered.

Speaking in an online Q&A session with members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on October 13, Zelenskiy also said his country has only 10 percent of what it needs for its air defense to repel Russian air strikes during a week when rockets and missiles have rained down on cities from Lviv in the west to Kyiv in central Ukraine and Kharkiv in the east.

"Today, with Russia, there cannot be diplomacy as there used to be. There cannot be respect for the leadership of a country that kills, captures, does not respect international law," Zelenskiy said.

Russia has pounded Ukraine in recent days with dozens of rockets and missiles, hitting several civilian targets.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels on the topic of air defense aid for Ukraine, which Zelenskiy said were needed to help bring Russia to the negotiating table.

"We must protect our sky from the terror of Russia. If this is done, it will be a fundamental step to end the entire war as soon as possible," he said.

Zelenskiy told the session his government is spending billions of dollars each month, mostly for the armed forces, which leaves it little to repair infrastructure regularly damaged by Russian missile strikes and keep up educational facilities and everyday life in Ukrainian towns and cities.

The Ukrainian leader praised the United Nations General Assembly for its October 12 condemnation of Russia's recent move to annex four Ukrainian regions, calling it "a powerful" result for Ukraine, and "a loss" for Russia.

"This clearly indicated how the world is now united in its support for Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.

Russia's latest strikes come after weeks of a counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops that have seen them take larges swathes of territory back from retreating Russian forces.

Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian armed forces have discovered evidence proving "war crimes committed by Russian troops" in some of the recently liberated parts of the Kharkiv region.

"The crimes committed there were the same as those committed by Russian armed forces in the towns of Bucha and Irpin [near Kyiv]," Zelenskiy said.

Numerous bodies of Ukrainian civilians had been found in mass burial sites and graves in the Kharkiv region after Russia troops had been forced from there by Ukrainian forces in September.

Russia has denied its troops have committed any crimes in Ukrainian territories occupied by its armed forces.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL

    RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG