UKRAINE’S Volodymyr Zelensky has bravely vowed to fight to the death if Russian forces stormed Kyiv’s headquarters.
The Ukrainian President admitted he carries a pistol and said he would have “shot to kill” if Vladimir Putin‘s troops had succeeded in breaking into his office in Bankova Street at the start of the war.
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During the first days of the invasion of Ukraine, officials said that Russian intelligence units tried to break into Kyiv but were defeated.
They had failed to reach Bankova Street in the centre, home to the presidential offices while unsuccessful attacks were reported on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Speaking about the consequences of an attack on the presidential headquarters, Zelensky said that he would have used his weapon “to kill,” noting that he and his team were “seriously prepared.”
He told the 1+1 TV channel “I know how to shoot. Could you imagine (a headline like) ‘The President of Ukraine is taken captive by Russians?’
“This is a disgrace. I believe this would be a disgrace.
“I think if they had gone inside, into the administration, we would not be here.
“No one would have been taken prisoner because we had a very seriously prepared defence of Bankova Street.
“We would have been there to the last.”
Asked whether he carried a pistol and practised using it, he replied that he did, while dismissing a suggestion he might have used it to take his own life rather than be captured.
“No, no, no. It’s not (to shoot) myself. To shoot back, surely,” he said.
The Ukrainian President opened up about his personal life and admitted he consults his wife Olena in all matters- including work.
During an interview with journalist Dmytro Komarov, Zelensky said he maintains a great relationship with his parents Oleksandr and Rimma.
Despite having the opportunity to leave the war-torn country, they have chosen to stay in their native Kryvyi Rih.
Zelensky said: “My parents understand everything and know everything. They stay here, in Ukraine, at home.
“Only my mother worries about me, she still asks me the question every time: ‘Have I eaten?’
Speaking about his dad, he added: “Dad says we’re watching, well done, finish them off already.”
It comes after the Ukrainian President vowed on Saturday that a counteroffensive is ahead just before a suspected Ukrainian drone strike that blew up a major fuel depot in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.
The alleged attack left Russia fuming with one war channel threatening: “To exclude such drone arrivals, it is necessary either to move the borders of Ukraine to Poland or for Ukraine to cease to exist altogether.”
The drone attack is alleged to be a retaliation to Russia hurling a wave of missiles at Ukrainian cities as people slept on Friday morning in the first large-scale air strikes in two months.
At least 16 people including two children were killed after a Russian missile blasted a high-rise apartment block in Ukraine.
Ukraine did not claim the attack on Crimea but defence spokesperson Andriy Yusov described the blast as “God’s punishment” for the tragedy in Uman.
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Aliki Kraterou
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