HOT Ukraine: President Zelensky unexpectedly refused to go to Moscow to talk directly with Putin to end the conflict

“In the name of my country, I am ready to go anywhere on the planet. But certainly not now and certainly not Moscow,” Zelensky told Mediazona in an interview. and was republished by the Austrian newspaper Der Standard.

The interview comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin declares victory in the port city of Mariupol in the biggest battle of the Ukraine war.

In the interview, Mr Zelensky also accused Russia’s political leadership of making a “catastrophic mistake” by conducting a special military operation in Ukraine.

In a related move, in a video broadcast on April 21, President Zelensky also accused Russia of planning to hold a fake referendum in the southern city of Kherson, which is controlled by Russian forces.

“I urge the inhabitants of the southern regions of Ukraine Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be very careful about the information you give the other. If they ask you to fill out some questionnaires or leave your passport data, you should know that they are not doing this to help you, but to fake a referendum,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president also affirmed that “Russia’s plan to establish the Kherson People’s Republic” will not succeed. If so, he warned, Moscow would face heavy sanctions that could devastate the Russian economy.

Russia has not yet commented on this statement by the President of Ukraine.