Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his country’s people to persevere in the face of Russian attacks as they celebrated a war-marked Christmas.
Saturday’s message, which is also marked ten months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, came at a time when a rocket attack on a bustling market in the recently recaptured Ukrainian city of Kherson killed at least 10 people and injured 58.
“We went through the start of the war — we withstood attacks, threats, nuclear blackmail, terror and missile attacks,” Zelenskyy said in the video address to Ukrainians celebrating Christmas in December. Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and celebrate this occasion at the beginning of January. “We’re going to get through this winter because we know what we’re fighting for,” he said.
The clip, which lasted around nine minutes, was shot outside at night with just a few white lights and a Christmas tree in the background. Relentless Russian rocket and drone attacks since October have severely damaged the power generation system, leaving major cities regularly without water and heat.
“Even in total darkness, we’ll find each other to hug each other tightly. And if there is no heat, we will hug each other for a long time to warm each other,” said the Ukrainian president.
“We’ll be smiling and happy, as always. There is a difference: we won’t wait for a miracle because we’re creating it ourselves,” he added.
“Killing for pleasure”
Shortly before the defiant message, Zelensky had published photos of the attack in Kherson, showing roads with burning cars, smashed windows and corpses.
“Social networks will most likely label these photos as “sensitive content.” But that is not sensitive content — it is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians,” he wrote.
“These aren’t military installations… It’s terror, it’s killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”
Regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych reported in a Telegram post that 10 people died and 55 were injured in the attack on Kherson, with 18 in serious condition.
Adviser to the Ukrainian President Kyrylo Timoshenko said the attack came from a multiple rocket launcher, while Yuriy Sobolevskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Council, said the rocket landed next to a supermarket on the city’s Freedom Square.
Among the victims was a butcher named Lesha, who had worked at the market for many years, according to 43-year-old resident Oleksandr Kudryashov.
“He came out to smoke, he was standing right here. We pulled his body, he was already dead,” Kudryashov told AFP news agency, pointing to a bloody staircase.
While Ukraine blamed Russian forces for the attack, a Moscow-friendly official said the Ukrainian armed forces launched the attack to blame the Russian military.
“This is a disgusting provocation with the obvious aim of blaming the Russian armed forces,” said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed governor of the region, which is partly controlled by Russia.
Ukraine recaptured Kherson, the only regional capital that Russia had taken since its invasion on February 24, in November. Since then, according to Kiev, Russian forces have heavily shelled the city from across the huge Dnieper.
A senior adviser to Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, criticized those who called Kiev for peace talks with Russia, citing the attack on Kherson and Moscow’s relentless attacks on the Ukrainian power grid.
“I remind those who suggest that [Russian] peace initiatives be considered: Right now, Russia is’ negotiating ‘, killing the inhabitants of Kherson, wiping out Bakhmut, destroying the networks of Kiev/Odessa and torturing civilians in Melitopol,” wrote Podolyak.
“Russia wants to kill with impunity. Should we allow it?