Zelenskyy on Russian strikes on Kyiv: They want Ukrainians to leave the capital

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia is trying to force Ukrainians to leave Kyiv by intensifying attacks on civilian targets and predicted further escalation ahead of the US midterm elections.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with El País during a visit to a school in Kyiv damaged in a Russian attack

Quote: "They want Ukrainians, and especially residents of the capital, to leave the city. They really wanted this during the full-scale invasion, right from the very beginning."

Details: Zelenskyy said that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia had also sought to drive people out of Kyiv in order to demonstrate that if there was no capital, there was no country.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is more than its capital and that Kyiv remains strong.

The president said that the Russians are attacking civilian targets in an effort to paralyse the city and prevent people from going to work and children from attending schools and kindergartens.

Zelenskyy linked the intensification of Russian strikes to the approaching US midterm elections. In his view, Putin will continue escalating the situation in an effort to demonstrate his strength, with the Kremlin's signals aimed primarily at Washington.

Quote: "Putin's tactic is to escalate the conflict as much as possible, and he will continue to do so. And as Trump's midterm elections approach, he will do it more and more."

Details: Zelenskyy also said that he had warned the US negotiating team about large-scale attacks on civilians, including after the elections.

He said Russia is seeking to plunge Ukraine into chaos by attacking logistics, food supplies, hospitals, agriculture and educational institutions.

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