Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dared Russia’s leader to meet with him Thursday, saying that “I don’t bite” — as Vladimir Putin vowed to continue his deadly invasion of Ukraine and claimed his soldiers were acting “like real heroes.”
During a news conference in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, Zelensky repeatedly taunted Putin, even mocking the Russian president’s penchant for conducting meetings at the opposite ends of extremely long tables.
“Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters,” Zelensky said.
“I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?”
Three days after launching the Feb. 24 invasion, Putin was photographed sitting yards away from two uniformed military advisers.
Images of a Feb. 7 meeting between him and French President Emmanuel Macron also showed them seated at the far ends of a long, oval table in an ornately decorated room in the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called his troops “real heroes” and claimed the invasion was proceeding on schedule. Alexei Nikolsky
A map of Russian attacks in Ukraine as of Thursday, March 3, 2022.
Zelensky also doubled down on his face-to-face peace proposal by saying, “Any words are more important than shots.”
But Putin didn’t appear ready to relent during the televised opening of a meeting with his national security council.
The Russian president insisted that his invasion of Ukraine, now in its second week, was proceeding without a hitch.
“I want to say that the special military operation is going strictly according to schedule, according to plan,” he said.
Putin repeated his spurious allegation that Russia was “at war with neo-Nazis” and added, “I will never give up on my conviction that Russians and Ukrainians are one people.”
Putin — who is facing a war crimes investigation by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor — also stated that Russian soldiers were fighting “courageously, like real heroes,” and said he’d ordered massive compensation to the families of those killed in battle.
On Wednesday, Russia said 498 of its soldiers had died in Ukraine, but a Zelensky military adviser said the number actually exceeded 7,000.
During a Thursday phone call with Macron, Putin said that “Russia intends to continue the uncompromising fight against militants of nationalist armed groups,” according to a Kremlin account of the conversation.
Putin also reportedly said Moscow’s peace talks with Kyiv included a demand for “the demilitarization and neutral status of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin for taking meetings across extremely long tables. AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised large financial compensation to families of fallen soldiers. Sergei Bobylev“It was emphasized that the tasks of the special military operation will be fulfilled in any event, and attempts to gain time by dragging out negotiations will only lead to additional demands on Kyiv in our negotiating position,” the Kremlin said.
With Post wires
