Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Kiev:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused Russia of pursuing a “clear policy of genocide” in his country’s eastern Donbass region.
Moscow’s attack on Donbass could leave the region “depopulated,” he said, accusing the Russians of wanting to overrun its cities.
“All of this, including the deportation of our people and the genocide of civilians, is a clear policy of genocide pursued by Russia,” he said in his daily television speech.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in late February, saying the operation was aimed at ending the “genocide” of Russian-speaking people in the West.
In April, Ukraine’s parliament backed a resolution recognizing Russian military action in the country as “genocide.”
U.S. President Joe Biden used the same expression, saying Putin seemed to be “trying to get rid of the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.”
The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has echoed this demand.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
