Volodymyr Zelensky has wished death on Vladimir Putin in his annual Christmas speech- as he offers to create a demilitarised zone in Ukraine to bring an end to the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian president called for his Russian counterpart to ‘perish’ in a pre-recorded statement posted to his X account on Christmas Eve.
In the clip captioned ‘Merry Christmas!’, filmed in front of a warmly lit festive backdrop, he said: ‘Today we all share one dream. And we make one wish together. ‘”May he [Putin] perish,” each of us may think privately, but when we turn to God, of course, we ask for more. We ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it. And we pray for it.’
Zelensky’s strong words come after a conciliatory offer he made today in a bid to stop the conflict with Russia, which has now been raging for nearly four years.
He suggested creating a demilitarised zone in the east of his country in a bid to speed up marathon peace plan negotiations with US officials in Florida.
Elsewhere in his Christmas address, the Ukrainian premier – wearing a traditional embroidered shirt, in his customary black – said: ‘We celebrate Christmas in a difficult time.
‘Sadly, not all of us are at home this evening, not all of us still have a home, and not all of us, unfortunately, are with us today.
‘Yet despite all the hardships brought by Russia, it is incapable of occupying or bombing what matters most. That is our Ukrainian heart, our faith in one another, and our unity.
‘But we are holding on. We support one another. And today we pray for everyone on the front line to return alive, for everyone in captivity to come home.’
