Volodymyr Zelensky’s words came in a video address to the Ukrainian people on Sunday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Ukraine’s president said that Russia’s continued attacks on civilians proved Moscow didn’t want peace.
He stated: "Today I want to address those in the world who give in to Russian manipulations [concerning] the alleged negotiations. [Those who believe Russia’s claim that] only negotiations can end this brutal Russian terrorist war,” as cited by the Ukrainska Pravda website.
He added: “Does the terrorist state want peace? Obviously not. It proves that every day and every night."
Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia city kills at least 14
Zelensky went on to say: “At least 14 people died last night as a result of Russian strikes on ordinary residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia. Unfortunately, this number may increase. Debris is still being cleared. More than 70 people were injured, including 11 children. All of them are provided with proper aid.”
He noted that Russia had fired a heavy anti-ship missile, Kh-22, at an ordinary nine-story residential building, destroying it from the first to the sixth floor.
Zelensky added the attack in the early hours of Sunday “continued a series of Russian missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia, which have killed at least 43 people since October 3.”
Ukraine’s president stressed: “It was a deliberate strike. The one who gave the order and those who carried it out knew what they were targeting.”
‘Russia must be punished for terror’
Zelensky said that “there were also strikes on Kharkiv, on the cities of Donbas, on other cities of Ukraine... There were also strikes by Iranian drones. Airstrikes.”
“The absolute majority of them were aimed at the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine and civilians,” he added.
Ukraine’s president stated: “When someone wants to negotiate, he does not do so. And when someone is a terrorist, that’s exactly what he does.”
Zelensky urged: “Terrorism is a crime that must be punished. Terrorism at the state level is one of the most heinous international crimes, which threatens not just someone in the world, but the entire international community.”
He stressed that if terror went unpunished, “if the terrorist succeeds in intimidation so much that someone in the world is willing to simply turn a blind eye to terror, then that will be a loss - a loss of freedom, a loss of humanity and a loss of democracy. This is exactly what Russia longs for.”
Zelensky went on to say: “Russia must be punished for terror. Only this guarantees that the confrontation will not grow to an even greater scale and will not spread to other countries.”
Russia strikes Zaporizhzhia city
Early on Sunday, Russia attacked the residential quarters of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia city, launching at least twelve S-300 and Kh-22 missiles, news agencies reported.
A high-rise residential building was partially destroyed, five other apartment buildings levelled and many more damaged in the strikes, according to regional governor Oleksandr Starukh, as cited by the Reuters news agency.
Monday is day 229 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, Reuters, ukrinform.net, pravda.com.ua, president.gov.ua