We are being destroyed and exterminated – Zelensky
The people of Ukraine do not want to be subdued by Russia and are being destroyed and exterminated as a result, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Speaking to CBS News through a translator on Sunday, Zelensky described the Russian invasion as involving “the torture of the whole nation”.
Asked directly whether Russia’s actions constituted genocide, he said: “Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities.
“This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities. We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don’t want to be subdued to the policy of Russian Federation.
“This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st Century.”
Nato chief calls Bucha civilian deaths a brutality
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called civilian deaths in the town of Bucha “unacceptable”.
Speaking to CNN, he said the deaths were “a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades” and that this “underlines the importance that this war must end”.
Stoltenberg joins world leaders in condemning the scenes in areas left behind by Russian forces following their retreat from several towns surrounding Kyiv.
In the wake of Russia’s withdrawal from Bucha, there have been multiple reports of corpses found wearing civilian clothing.