Volodymyr Zelenskyy gathers journalists from all over the world in the Kiev subway to repeat that he has no “right to fear”. According to Ukraine’s president, Russians believe his people have no “right to life,” but Zelenskyy has no intention of letting go. The attack on Moscow is direct, but despite it all, Ukraine’s president says he’s ready to meet Vladimir Putin “to end the war,” even if they first have to “silence their guns.” At this moment, however, the battle rages on. “The Russians are behaving like Nazis, but we Ukrainians will never give up,” says Zelenskyy confidently, who will be welcoming US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to Kyiv tomorrow. A fundamental meeting from several points of view, starting with the military. Kyiv reveals that the weapons requested from the West have “arrived” and thanks the change of pace, which “Great Britain and the USA” in particular see. And one day the Ukrainian capital hopes to receive Pope Francis. “It’s still early to talk about his visit, but we’re waiting for it,” says Zelensky, hoping that the Holy Father can help “unblock the humanitarian corridors to Mariupol.”
The “martyr city” of Ukraine is increasingly becoming the center of the conflict. The bombing of the Azovstal Steel Works, the last defensive stronghold of the Ukrainian armed forces, resumed. The armed forces defending it, starting with the controversial Azov Battalion, have released video showing the civilians living barricaded in the steel mill’s basement in inhumane conditions. According to Ukrainian officials, there are about 1,000, including women and children, who have the only common desire to return “to see the sun.”
Odessa was also bombed during the day. Seven rockets were fired at the city. The toll is at least 6 dead and about 20 injured. Among the deceased is a three-month-old baby. An act that President Zelenskyy rejects. “They are bastards,” he says twice in front of the camera. For Moscow, however, the target in Odessa was a logistics terminal at a military airport, where a stack of foreign weapons was stored.
A situation of unrelenting conflict in which Zelensky also sets the bar for negotiations. “If our people are killed in Mariupol, or if a ‘pseudo-referendum’ is announced in one of the occupied territories of Ukraine,” we will stop negotiations, he explains. A jab is also reserved for NATO. “He made a strategic mistake with Ukraine. If we were part of the alliance, Russia would not have attacked us,” he thought.
And according to Kiev, “Moscow’s appetite is growing.” The next target would be Moldova, and in particular Transnistria, where the Russians – according to the Ukrainians – could launch a new Donbass operation.
