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Volodymyr Zelensky Vladimir Putin has wished death in a Christmas message after Russia continued to bomb Ukraine with missiles and drones.
In a video posted to each other, and our unity”.
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Zelensky said: “Today, we all share a dream.
“And we make a wish – for all of us. ‘May she perish’, each of us might think to ourselves. But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something bigger, we ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it, we pray for it, we deserve it.”
His comments came after Russia attacked areas across Ukraine with missiles and drones on Tuesday, killing at least three people and triggering emergency power cuts.
In other attacks on Christmas night, at least two people were killed in drone strikes in Odessa and Kharkiv.
The Ukrainian leader said in his address: “On Christmas Eve, the Russians once again showed who they really are.
“Massive shelling, hundreds of ‘martyrs’, ballistic missiles, Kinjal strikes – everything was used. This is how the godless attack took place.”
“For all our fallen heroes who defended Ukraine at the cost of their lives. For all those who have been captured by Russia and forced to flee.
“For those for whom it is hard, but who have not lost Ukraine within themselves – and so Ukraine will never lose them. Today we stand shoulder to shoulder. We will not lose our way in the darkness.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Mr Putin wished US President Donald Trump a Merry Christmas and sent him a congratulatory message.
US negotiators have held separate talks with Ukraine and Russia since Mr Trump presented a plan to end the war last month – a proposal widely seen to favor Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.
Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to bring the plan closer to Kiev’s position.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that peace talks had made “slow but steady progress.”
Mr Zelensky has said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war. Ukraine’s president said he was prepared to do so if Moscow backed down and the region became a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
The US has proposed the creation of a “free economic zone”, which Mr Zelensky said should be demilitarized.
A similar arrangement may also be possible for the area around the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under Russian control. But any peace plan will need to be put to a referendum, the president has stressed.
Meanwhile, Russian air defense units shot down 25 Ukrainian drones flying to Moscow throughout the day on Wednesday, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Ukraine’s military said its drones had overnight attacked the Yefremov synthetic rubber plant in Russia’s Tula region, south of Moscow, and a storage facility for marine drones in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Tula regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said debris from a downed Ukrainian drone started a fire at an industrial site.
The Ukrainian military also said an oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region was hit by Storm Shadow missiles, causing multiple explosions.
The Polish military said Thursday that Polish jets also intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea that was flying too close to its airspace.
The Polish military said that last night the balloons smuggling objects were seen entering Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.