President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to remain in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv despite the ongoing fighting there. “I am staying in Kyiv” he said in a video message.
He said he would not hide and wasn’t afraid of anyone.
“Today is the twelfth night of our struggle, our defense. We are all on site, everyone is working. Everyone where he has to. I’m in Kyiv, my team is with me,” Zelensky added. According to the Presidential Office, Zelensky has recalled Ukrainian soldiers serving on foreign missions.
The “highly professional military” would be needed in the fight against “Russian aggression,” the statement said. According to Ukrainian media, the country is involved in operations in Kosovo, Congo, and Ivory Coast. Zelensky said that talks with Russia would continue.
“We are realists. That’s why we’re going to talk. We will insist on negotiations until we find a way to say to our people: This is how we come to peace,” he said. Every day of fighting creates “better conditions” for Ukraine, he added. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has confirmed plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey this week.
“Currently the 10th [of March] is planned. Let’s see – if he flies to Antalya, then I’ll fly too. Let’s sit down, let’s talk,” Kuleba said in a video message on Monday evening. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu had previously said both sides were expected in the Turkish city of Antalya on March 10. The talks are likely to take place with Cavusoglu in a three-way format. If Lavrov was ready for a serious talk, they would speak “from diplomat to diplomat.” But should Lavrov “start repeating the absurd propaganda that has been dished out lately, I’ll give him the hard truth he deserves,” Kuleba asserted. The diplomat said his country was also not closed to direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
