Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a new video address on Saturday, said that he was sure that Ukrainian refugees would soon be able to return home who have left the country amid Russia’s military offensive. He hoped that tens of billions of dollars would be allocated to Ukraine for reconstruction.
He added, “Today is Saturday but it means nothing. Our country doesn’t have weekends anymore. It doesn’t matter what’s on the clock or on the calendar. And it will be this way until we win.”
The number of refugees who have fled the war-hit country has now reached 1.45 million, the International Organisation for Migration said on Saturday. This could become the biggest refugee crisis this century, the U.N. has said, predicting that as many as 4 million people could leave.
The UN said that 787,300 refugees went to Poland. Some 228,700 fled to Moldova, 144,700 to Hungary, 132,600 to Romania and 100,500 to Slovakia.
Zelenskyy rejects rumours he has fled to Poland; shares video from Kyiv
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy denied rumours that he fled to Poland amid Russia’s invasion. Russian-state-owned media Sputnik quoted Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as saying, “Zelenskyy left Ukraine. Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada said that they could not get to him in Lviv. He is now in Poland.”
However, Zelenskyy has refuted Russia’s claims of fleeing the war-torn country. “I am in Kyiv. I am working here. Nobody has escaped,” he captioned the video, in which he appeared to be standing in his office along with another Kyiv official.
On February 24, Russian forces launched a military strike against Ukraine, in the contour of “demilitarizing and denazifying” the country.
On the tenth day of the war, Russia declared a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. Moscow has announced its decision to allow humanitarian corridors in two cities – Mariupol and Volnovakha. According to Russia’s defence ministry, a route connecting Mariupol and Volnovakha has been chosen as a humanitarian corridor where citizens are allowed to leave and get access to medical facilities.