“Life has a chance to win” in Ukraine thanks to world media attention, says President Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “life has a chance to win” in Ukraine thanks to the world’s media attention while praising British journalists for their coverage of the Russian invasion.

In a keynote speech at the Publishers Society’s Freedom of the Media Conference in London on Wednesday, Zelensky said Ukraine “needs the world’s attention even more than before.”

The Ukrainian president urged more journalists to travel to the country to “spread the truth about Russian aggression, support our defense and give value to Ukrainian life.”

He told British media representatives that the country has issued more than 15,000 accreditations to foreign journalists since the start of the conflict.

Speaking in a pre-recorded speech, Zelensky said: “Now that Russia’s full-scale war has been going on for more than a year, Ukraine needs the world’s attention even more than before.”

Members of the Ukrainian special unit gather in the forest near Bachmut in the Donbas region on March 15.

A member of the Ukrainian special unit checks and prepares his weapon in the forest, near Bachmut, in the Donbas region, on March 15.

‘Life as such needs the attention of the world: the attention of journalists and politicians, public leaders and all communities, all nations that value freedom.

“Now more than ever, your ability to bring words to life is needed.”

Zelensky said that he had opened Ukraine to the “maximum number of eyes” so that the “world would see” what was happening during the conflict.

The Ukrainian president said he wanted the world to know about “every crime committed by the Russian occupiers of Ukrainian soil so that it does not pass without a trace.”

He continued: ‘This is necessary for Ukraine to say we can win, for Ukrainians to say we can restore justice.

‘So that the terrorist state feels that it will be punished, so that our partners in the world hear that Ukraine is grateful for the support and help, and so that the world knows, thanks to the fact that you friends support Ukraine today, life You will get protection for generations to come.

“No potential aggressor in the world will ever dare to start another similar war if the story of Ukrainian victory will be heard around the world, if responsibility for war crimes against Ukrainians becomes inevitable for any of the Russians, from the dome to the mere actors. – and if the Ukrainian land emerges from the ruins of the war.

‘For all this, the truth is important.

‘So I urge you to come to Ukraine and spread the truth about Russian aggression, support our defense and give value to Ukrainian life.

‘Thank you to all of you dear Brits for your vital support. Glory to all as we fight for freedom. Slav Ukraine.

The one-day event, held at London’s Leonardo Royal Hotel, brought together more than 150 publishers and journalists from across the UK media industry.

In Ukraine, Ukrainian forces continue today to defend the town of Bakhmut against an onslaught of Russian soldiers and artillery fire.

Ukrainian soldiers walk down a street in the area of ​​the heaviest battles with Russian invaders in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

Russian forces, led by the private Wagner militia, have been trying to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city for months in what has become one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war.

Russia, which refers to the city by the Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk, says capturing the city will allow it to launch more offensives into Ukrainian territory it says it is fighting to “liberate.”

“The situation in Artyomovsk remains complex and difficult,” Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said in an interview on state television on Thursday.

“That is, we do not see that there is any premise that the enemy is simply going to withdraw units,” he added.

Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that his forces control almost half of the city and only one exit route remains available for Ukraine.

Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not withdraw his forces from Bakhmut, even as Kiev and Western officials have downplayed the strategic importance of the city, which has been decimated by months of artillery barrages and urban fighting.