In a video speech shared online early Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russian attacks on protesters in the southern city of Kherson and strikes in the southeast’s Zaporizhzhya region, where four children were hospitalized.
Zelensky said the Ukrainian military had largely blocked Russia’s advance on Monday.
“The enemy is trying to move slowly to go on the offensive somewhere, to conquer our way somewhere, to cross the river somewhere,” Zelensky said in a translation of his comments shared by his office.
In Kherson, which has been held by Russian troops since March 2, Mr Zelensky said Russian troops shot at people “who peacefully took to the streets without weapons at a rally for their freedom – for our freedom.”
“The Russian soldiers don’t even know what it’s like to be free,” said Mr. Zelensky, who condemned the attack. “They drove here, to be honest, as if they were condemned – sentenced to death, sentenced to disgrace.”
The shooting dispersed the crowd of protesters. It was not immediately clear whether there were any injuries or deaths in the attack.
In a separate attack, a group of civilians was attacked in the Zaporizhzhya region of the southeast, with four children hospitalized, two of whom are in serious condition, Mr. Zelensky.
Through humanitarian corridors on Monday in several cities across the country — including Kiev, the capital, and Mariupol, a major coastal town in the south — Mr. Zelensky that 8,057 people were rescued. The number of evacuees could not be independently verified. “Thank you to everyone who did it, who worked for the people,” he said.
Some previous attempts to evacuate people and deliver food and supplies through humanitarian corridors had failed after coming under fire from Russian forces.
“It was a day of difficult events,” said Mr. Zelensky, probably referring to Russian strikes that have left death and destruction all over the country. “But it was another day that brought us all closer to our victory.”
