Russian troops came close to capturing me – Ukraine President

UKRAINE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with the Time magazine, opened up about his close brush with being captured or killed by Russian troops in the initial days of the Russian invasion.

In the early hours of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the decision to invade Ukraine and “denazify” the neighbouring nation. The move came after weeks of troop build-up and drills in Belarus and other border regions of Ukraine.

The comedian-turned-politician also spoke of how he and his wife Olena Zelenska broke the news of the war to their kids. “We woke them up,” said Zelenskyy, speaking of his 17-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. “It was loud. There were explosions over there,” he said, reminiscing the early hours of February 24 when the bombing started in Kyiv. Late that night, as the President’s family sheltered with him in the presidential compound, Russian troops made two attempts to get into the premises, said the news report, quoting Oleksiy Arestovych, a veteran of Ukraine’s military intelligence service.

The report also touched upon the President’s quote — “I need ammunition, not a ride” — that made headlines worldwide.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska says the war with Russia has not changed her husband but only revealed to the world his determination to prevail and the fact that he is a man you can rely on.

Zelenska, in an interview published Friday in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, also said she has not seen her husband, 44-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, since Russia invaded Ukraine.

When Zelenska woke up on February 24, the day the war began, her husband was already awake and dressed. He told her simply: “It’s started,” and left for the office in Kyiv, she recalled.

“Since February 24, I have been seeing my husband just like you — on TV and on the video recordings of his speeches,” she said.

– INDIAN EXPRESS