Photo: OLENA ZELENSKA/INSTAGRAM; Inset: Ukrinform/Shutterstock
Ukrainian First LadyOlena Volodymyrivna Zelenskais raising awareness on the killing of Ukrainian children and calling for more military support in the wake ofRussia’s invasion of the country.
In an Instagramposton Sunday, the 44-year-old writer posted a series of photos showing some of the children who have reportedly been killed in the conflict and shared details of their lives.
“Alisa from the Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka. She wasn’t older than 8-years. She died during the shelling along with her grandfather, who tried to protect her with his own body,” Zelenska wrote, according to a translation.
Referencing another child, she continued: “Polina from Kyiv. She died along with her parents and brother during shelling in the streets of the capital.”
In that post, Zelenska noted that nearly 40 children are believed to have been killed in Ukraine. She warned the number of young casualties could only increase “due to the shelling of peaceful cities.”
“If the people of Russia say that they are not at war with the civilian population, then show them these pictures!” Zelenska wrote in a pointed rebuttal to the Kremlin’s insistence it does not target civilian sites.
OLENA ZELENSKA/INSTAGRAM
But other countries, who are aiding Ukraine in other ways, have been reluctant to commit their forces in direct conflict with Russia.
They fear it could escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine to more of Europe — if not the world.
Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, 44, has also urged the United States and its European allies to impose a no-fly zone.
Still,as the Associated Press notes, the possibility of the U.S., U.K. and their European allies implementing a no-fly zone is highly unlikely given the risk of expanding the war.
DAPHNE ROUSSEAU/AFP via Getty
More than a million Ukrainians have also fled, the United Nations says.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin, 69 insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
