Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has issued a heartbreaking appeal to the world's media to tell Russian mothers the 'terrible truth' of Putin's attack on her homeland.
The wife of President Zelenskyy called on global news outlets on Sunday to cover the atrocities currently happening in Ukraine, after posting multiple distressing images of the war's youngest victims on her Instagram.
The plea comes shortly after Olena warned of a nuclear disaster 'equal to six Chernobyls' in light of Russia's seizure of Europe's largest power plant last week.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, attacking the Eastern European country from land, air, and sea. Since the conflict began, 364 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 1.5m people have fled the nation.
President Putin's actions have been strongly condemned by international leaders, including US President Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as the UN and NATO.
Olena, who is currently hiding with her two children at a secret location in Ukraine, has been regularly updating her social media in the days following the invasion.
She took to Instagram yesterday to share several photos of Ukrainian children who have been "consciously and cynically" by Russian troops, adding captions in English, Russian, Ukrainian, French, and German in the hope of reaching a wider audience.
After sharing the tragic stories of five minors who have died in the war, she urged the world's 'unbiased media' to tell the 'terrible truth' that 'Russian invaders are killing Ukrainian children.'
"Tell it to Russian mothers—let them know what exactly their sons are doing here, in Ukraine," the 44-year-old wrote. "When people in Russia say that their troops are not hurting the civilian population, show them these pictures! Show them the faces of these children who weren't even given a chance to grow up."
Zelenska also emphasized the need for "corridors in the hottest cities in Ukraine" to ensure Ukrainians can safely leave the country.
On Sunday, Russia proposed evacuation routes that would lead to Russia and Belarus—a plan that has, unsurprisingly, been condemned by Ukraine.
President Zelenksyy's spokesperson called President Putin's offer 'completely immoral', while Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk condemned it as 'unacceptable.'
Ukraine has proposed eight humanitarian corridors leading to the Western region of the country, which is free from Russian shelling. After two failed attempts to evacuate Ukraine's civilians failed last week, the third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is expected to take place today (7 March) at 4 pm local time.
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