On Thursday, local time, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold direct talks with him, and provoked and ridiculed Putin for saying "I don't bite people again." Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue planned military operations against Ukraine and praised Russian soldiers for behaving "like real heroes."
1. Zelenskiy mocked and ridiculed Putin
The message was conveyed to Putin at a news conference in Kiev, ukraine's capital, where Zelenskiy repeatedly mocked Pu's provocation of Beijing and even mocked the Russian president's penchant for holding meetings at the other end of the long table. Zelenskiy said, "Oh my God, what do you want? Leave our land. If you don't want to leave now, sit down at the negotiating table with me. ”
Zelenskiy later added sarcasm, "But not at a distance of 30 meters like [French President] Macron and (German Chancellor) Scholz." After all, I am your neighbor. Zelenskiy also said, "I'm a normal person without biting, and it's so hard to sit down with me and talk, tell me what you're afraid of."
Here, Zelenskiy's reference to "30 meters away" is clearly the long table that Putin used for meetings. Three days after the February 24 military campaign, Putin was photographed sitting not far from two uniformed military advisers, while previously, on Feb. 7, photographs of Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron meeting in a lavishly decorated room in the Kremlin also showed the two sitting at opposite ends of a long oval table.
Zelenskiy also said that "any words are more important than bullets," but while Zelenskiy stressed the need for negotiations, he acknowledged that the prospects for a new round of talks did not seem promising.
2. Ask for weapons while seeking peace
Meanwhile, Zelensky, while demanding direct dialogue with Putin, has continued to seek help from other countries and NATO for weapons and planes, threatening at a news conference on Thursday that "if we no longer exist, then, God forear, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next." He also publicly demanded that Western leaders set up no-fly zones in key parts of Ukraine, saying, "If the West does this, Ukraine will defeat the invaders with much less blood." However, his request was ignored by the United States and NATO, which would lead to the risk of being involved in a direct armed conflict with Russia.
In response to the "no-fly zone" claim, US officials have long responded. Rep. Sarah Jacobs, a Democrat from California, previously said in a statement that if NATO and the United States impose a no-fly zone, they could be drawn into war. It also said that the no-fly zone is to be enforced, not just declared to be established.
3. Putin is unmoved
While Zelenskiy worked hard, Putin didn't seem ready to back down, and at the opening of a televised meeting with the National Security Council, the Russian president insisted that his military operations in Ukraine, now in their second week, are going well. Putin said, "I would like to say that special military operations will be carried out strictly according to the timetable and plan. ”
Putin reiterated his previous claims, saying externally that Russia "is fighting (Ukrainian) neo-Nazis", adding, "I will never give up my belief that Russians and Ukrainians are one nation." Putin also said Russian soldiers "fought bravely like true heroes" and said he had ordered huge compensation to the families of servicemen who died in the fighting.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia had said 498 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine, but a military adviser to Zelenskiy said the actual number exceeded 7,000. Separately, according to the Kremlin's description of the call, Putin said in a phone call with Macron on Thursday that "Russia intends to continue to fight uncompromisingly against militants of nationalist militants." Putin also said moscow's peace talks with Kiev include calling for "Ukraine's demilitarization and neutrality."
The Kremlin also preached through Macron that "we stress that the task of special military operations will be completed in any case, and trying to buy time by delaying negotiations will only make Kiev more demanding from our negotiating position." ”