Zelenskyy Says Peace Talks With Russia ‘Might Not Happen’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited widespread destruction and death as the reason peace talks with Russia are doubtful.

QUICK FACTS:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says peace talks with Russia might not happen, according to a quote from the leader’s recent speech.
• Zelenskyy cited the reported destruction of cities, as well as the alleged torture and death of civilians, saying there is “ample evidence” that Russian troops were to blame, per a printed portion of his comments on his official presidential website.
• The Ukrainian leader warned that if Russian leadership didn’t become more serious about seeking to “really negotiate peace” they would be putting their country in the “worst condition in 50 years.”

Powerful, passionate address from Zelensky tonight. Switching from Ukrainian to Russian he addresses mothers of soldiers who committed horrific war crimes in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, asking how they raised “butchers,” and he tells Moscow to see how it’s orders are being fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/7UyYxqiY4V

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 3, 2022

A PORTION OF ZELENSKYY’S STATEMENT:

• “We have just begun an investigation into all that the occupiers have done. At present, there is information about more than three hundred people killed and tortured in Bucha alone. It is likely that the list of victims will be much larger when the whole city is checked. And this is only one city,” said Zelenskyy.
• “In many villages of the liberated districts of the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the occupiers did things that the locals had not seen even during the Nazi occupation 80 years ago. The occupiers will definitely bear responsibility for this,” the president went on to say.
• “All crimes of the occupiers are documented. The necessary procedural basis is provided for bringing the guilty Russian military to justice for every crime they commit … It is now 2022. And we have much more tools than those who prosecuted the Nazis after World War II.”

BACKGROUND:

• Russia has responded to the claims that they are responsible for war crimes in the town close to Kyiv, calling the incident “fake” and saying it was a “staged” false flag “provocation.”
• President Joe Biden has also been pushing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be treated like a “war criminal” and has doubled down on his support of Ukraine and insistence that the Russian leader must be prosecuted.

The venue where war criminals are tried is the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which the US has steadfastly refused to join out of fear of having its own officials tried and held accountable there. That's why so many of them are on Twitter and in cable Green Rooms. https://t.co/cXMIzrvRyx

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 4, 2022

Ukraine Briefs U.N. on Alleged Massacres as Russia Rejects Claims as ‘Groundless,’ a ‘Well-Directed Show’