Zelensky met with a group of wounded Ukrainian soldiers at Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island:
As he looked at the missing limbs and sad faces of wounded Ukrainian soldiers being treated in a U.S. hospital, President Volodymyr Zelensky had one word for Russian leaders heading to a key U.N. summit: “terrorists.” Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday to address the United Nations General Assembly and plea for more aid as Ukraine painfully presses ahead with a high-stakes counteroffensive to regain territory from Russian forces more than 18 months into the war .
Before meeting with world leaders, Zelensky went to Staten Island University Hospital, where a group of Ukrainian soldiers are receiving prosthetic arms and legs and rehabilitation services.
In a large hospital room, the Ukrainian president watched as several soldiers in khaki uniforms practiced walking and lifting weights with newly acquired prosthetic legs and arms.
Zelensky talked to the soldiers and shook their hands – if they had them.
Even as he tried to cheer up the soldiers, the Ukrainian leader was visibly shaken.
“Is it heavy?” Zelensky asked a soldier.
“A little,” was the answer.
Another soldier, from the Zaporizhia region in southern Ukraine, where there was heavy fighting, tried to put on a brave face.
“How are you? Is it hard?” Zelensky asked.
The soldier waited a moment and then replied, “It’s all right.”
“Stay strong,” Zelensky pleaded.
Nine Ukrainian soldiers are currently being treated in hospital. According to hospital officials and the Ukrainian-American NGO Kind Deeds, which provides prosthetics to war amputees, the clinic has helped a total of 35 service members in the past year.
Kiev does not release war casualty figures, but U.S. officials estimate the number of dead and wounded Ukrainian soldiers is approaching 500,000, the New York Times reported last month.
“Come home quickly, thank you for your service,” Zelensky told the soldiers as he left the room.
In another room, Zelensky, flanked by medical personnel, told another group of soldiers that their American doctors were amazed by the resilience and dedication of the Ukrainian soldiers.
“He said, ‘I have never seen people who have such a strong desire to return home,’” Zelensky said of one doctor. “We will all wait for you to come home. We absolutely need all of you, every strong Ukrainian fighter to defeat our enemy. I am convinced that this will definitely happen.”
Zelensky then presented some soldiers and hospital staff with Ukrainian state awards.
Asked by a journalist about the possibility of ending up in the same room with Russian representatives during the General Assembly, Zelensky became somber.
“It is very important for us that all our words, all our messages are heard by our partners,” Zelensky said. “If there is still room for Russian terrorists in the United Nations, the question is not for me; I think it is a question for all member states.”
Zelensky posed for photos with soldiers, including one who had prosthetics for both arms and appeared deeply traumatized. After the photo was taken, Zelensky helped the soldier sit back down.
Zelensky left due to a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
“I wish you victory and that you return home,” he told the soldiers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)