When 65 days have passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine to begin, or what he called ‘the special military operation’, more and more details of the moments of terror experienced by the Ukrainian people in the first moments of the attack and who are still in the territory.
This Thursday, a publication of the magazine ‘Times’ revealed to the world how the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski lived the first moments of the war with Russia.
(Also read: Security Council will discuss attacks in kyiv during Guterres’ visit)
Zelenski, who went from being in the world of entertainment to lead his country in one of the worst recent wars, was about to be captured by Russian troops in the first moments of the invasion of his country.
This is how Zelensky experienced the start of the Russian attacks.
‘Fragmented memories’
Zelenski’s story and his experiences in the middle of the war were portrayed by the journalist Simon Shuster, from the ‘Times’, who spent two weeks in April living with the president and his team to observe how they handle the war and the routine that They live in the midst of attacks.
Zelensky told the journalist that memories of the first days of the war exist in his head in a fragmented way.“a disjointed set of images and sounds,” he said.
(You may be interested: Zelensky and Putin could meet at the G20 summit)
However, one of her clearest memories is of the first day of the invasion, February 24, when she had to tell her children, aged 9 and 17, that the attacks had begun. “It was loud. There were explosions there,” the president said.
His children understood there that the war had begun and that they were in danger in their habitual residence.
But the worst part of the story is that Zelensky was about to be captured by Russian troops at the beginning of the invasion. According to ‘Times’, the Russians approached kyiv to capture and kill him. But not only him, but also his family.
“Before that night, we had only seen things like this in the movies.”, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the president, told the quoted media.
(Also: Bombings in kyiv sought to ‘humiliate the UN’, according to the Ukrainian president)
While the clashes and attacks were taking place in the streets of kyiv, all the members of the presidential guard were in charge of sealing off the government complex to prevent the president from being captured. Boards and barricades protected the entrance to the site where Zelensky was.
Those close to the president interviewed by the ‘Times’ affirm that in the first hours of the invasion there was no fear in Zelensky, it was rather an attitude of bewilderment and doubt that Russia had decided to invade Ukraine. Even as he himself had downplayed US warnings that the attack was very close.
“We felt that the world order was collapsing,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian parliament.
(You can see: A journalist, fatal victim of Russian bombing in kyiv this Thursday)
‘Times’ narrates that on the first night of the invasion there were shootings around the neighborhood where the government is located, so Zelensky and everyone present had to be given a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle, even if they didn’t know how to use it.
“It was an absolute madhouse,” they said.
That night alone there were two attempts to break into the presidential compound to take Zelensky away. The president’s wife and children were still there. Fortunately, the Russian troops did not succeed.
The aforementioned media also narrates that the Ukrainian president received proposals from the United States and the United Kingdom to leave the country together with his team. The evacuation was intended to take them to a nearby place, such as Poland, to establish a government at a distance.
However, Zelensky did not consider offers to evacuate the area and stayed there. That same night he even recorded a video in the streets stating that he would not escape the country.
His life was still at risk. According to the sources cited by the text, the presidential palace was highly exposed. He could be the target of snipers and bombs from a nearby house.
(Keep reading: Guterres: ‘Security Council failed to prevent war in Ukraine’)
Since the president and his team entered the bunker, all members are prohibited from discussing the location, layout, or any details of the venue. In fact, they have a non-disclosure agreement to protect the security of the president.
The ‘Times’ text also describes what Zelensky’s first moments were like touring the attacked places and how the president continues to work in the midst of the war.
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