Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday posted a video saying he has not fled the country, contrary to Russian media reports.
In the video posted on Instagram, Zelenskyy showed his Kyiv office and said, “I am in Kyiv. I am working here. No one has escaped anywhere.”
The video message came after Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Friday said that Zelenskyy had fled Ukraine and was in Poland. “Zelensky left Ukraine. Deputies of the Verkhonva Rada said that they could not get to him in Lvov. He is now in Poland,” Russian news agency Sputnik quoted Volodin as saying.
Zelenskyy has been extremely vocal about the Ukrainian sovereignty amid the Russian offensive, continuously interacting with the world through videos and tweets.
On Friday, he criticised NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it will fully untie Russia’s hands as it escalates its attack from the air. NATO refused to impose a no-fly zone, warning that to do so could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia.
GenXUser on March 5th, 2022 at 12:20 UTC »
He just met with journalists yesterday in Kyiv.
bigdon802 on March 5th, 2022 at 11:34 UTC »
Not surprising they tried. Zelensky has pulled off a bit of a propaganda coup by staying and broadcasting this way. It's making the Russians look even worse than they would otherwise (not an easy feat) and raising his own countrymen's morale.
MelodicTemporary6957 on March 5th, 2022 at 11:26 UTC »
Of course Russia lied. They are trying to make the Ukranians army to turn on him.