Zelenskyy Warns That Tens of Millions of Ukrainians Could Flee and Head to Europe if Kyiv Loses the War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said up to 20 million people could flee the country and head to Europe if Russia wins the war.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Zelenskyy said “Russia is Killing” us and Ukrainians are being “pushed” out of the country.
So far, about four million Ukrainians live in countries part of the European Union under temporary protection status. There are currently just under 40 million people still living in Ukraine, so Zelenskyy’s projection accounts for about half of the current population.
Ukraine is facing a dire situation at the moment, its energy grid being constantly attacked by Moscow as a new report claimed that that it has run out of Patriot missiles.
“Almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles,” a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Zelenskyy repeatedly warned that such a scenario would take place if Kyiv didn’t get more supplies soon. He had told the outlet in August that he held “millions” of phone calls with allies to try to get more, but all efforts seem to have failed.
Zelenskyy is also dealing with a new fallout with President Donald Trump as the two continue to clash over continued attacks against energy infrastructure.
Trump has called Kyiv’s decision to resume attacks against Russian refineries a “disgrace.” Zelenskyy, on his end, said the decision was a result of Moscow not abiding by an energy ceasefire declared by Trump during the weekend. “There’s plenty of other targets; they don’t have to hit,” Trump said in an interview on Thursday.
“Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with” Trump added. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”
Zelenskyy has also taken aim at Trump. In another interview with British commentator Piers Morgan on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he felt let down by his dealings with Putin, including a deal to release hundreds of barrels of diesel due to high global prices. Zelenskyy claimed the lifting of sanctions would allow Russia to press on with the invasion.
When asked by Morgan if he felt “betrayed by what was happening,” Zelenskyy said “really, yes.” However, he noted that Ukraine’s relationship with the U.S. mattered more than his personal feelings. “Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump.”
Elsewhere, a new report detailed that the decision to limit Ukraine’s access to Starshield, the satellite system used by the country for battlefield communications and other wartime operations, came from inside the White House.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters detailed that leaders at the Defense Department got a message saying that the system needed to be slowed down. They did not specify who made the decision or relayed the order.
