Ukraine Prez Zelenskyy Rejects Talks in Minsk, Calls Russian Actions Genocidal

Talks in Minsk would be acceptable, the president said, if Russia hadn't attacked from the Belarusian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Russian actions were on the verge of genocide.

(Photo Courtesy: Video screen grab/Instagram)

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a short video message on Sunday, 27 February that Russian actions were on the verge of a genocide and that he will not participate in talks if held in Belarus because of how it had been used to attack Ukraine.

He also asserted that the world must act and take away Russia's voting power at the United Nations Security Council.

Claiming that the Russian military was "firing rockets and missiles at entire city districts in which there isn’t and never has been any military infrastructure," Zelenskyy said that, "this is terror."

"They are going to bomb our Ukrainian cities even more, they are going to kill our children even more subtly. This is the evil that has come to our land and must be destroyed," he added, Reuters reported.

"They fight against everyone. They fight against all living things – against kindergartens, against residential buildings and even against ambulances," he said.

Zelenskyy Rejects Talks in Belarus 

Responding to claims made by Moscow that it is "ready for talks" with Kyiv, Zelenskyy rejected talks with Russia due to the proposed location.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson and and Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov had told reporters that a Russian delegation had arrived in Belarus for negotiations and are "now waiting for the Ukrainians."

While addressing the nation on Sunday morning, the Ukrainian President said that he remained open to negotiations in locations that were not colluding with the element.

Talks in Belarus' capital Minsk, Zelenskyy added, could have been a possibility if Russian troops hadn't attacked Ukraine from the Belarusian territory.

The Ukrainian army had previously stated that it had shot down a "winged rocket" fired at Kyiv from a Tu-22 aircraft of Belarus.

Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as 'republics' independent from Ukraine.

Europe is witnessing the biggest military aggression since World War II. Follow our coverage of the war here.

(With inputs from Reuters.)