Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew parallels between the horror of Hiroshima and the destruction of the city of Bakhmut at the Group of Seven summit in Japan on Sunday.
After Russia said it was in full control of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, a claim denied by Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader said it was unfair to compare Bakhmut to the first city to suffer a nuclear attack.
But speaking in Hiroshima, which hosted the three-day summit for the leaders of the world’s seven largest economies, he said photos of the city where the United States dropped an atomic bomb in 1945 «absolutely remind me of Bakhmut and other cities like this.
He said that “absolutely, nothing lives there, all the buildings are destroyed, you don’t even understand where a street is and where a building is. Absolute total destruction. There is nothing left, there are no people left”.
Today, he said that Hiroshima was «a modern city that seems alive, with respect to people and values,» adding that he believed the same would be true of Bakhmut and other towns and villages.
Zelenskyy was not expected to appear at the summit in person, but after he arrived on a French plane on Saturday dressed in his trademark green military uniform, he was warmly received by other leaders, including President Joe Biden. Sunday.
He said Ukraine expected to receive «high-quality weapons» from all the G7 countries, which includes Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States.
“We will get the planes,” he said. «Until now, I can’t say how many of them, this is not a secret, I really don’t know yet.»
His comments came after Wagner’s mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose fighters led the costly Russian drive through Bakhmut, claimed on Saturday that he had finally captured the city. The Russian Defense Ministry also said in a Telegram post that the «liberation» of the city had been completed.
Questioning the claims, Zelenskyy said his forces were «holding on» and «fighting thanks to the courage of our people and warriors, and thanks to our intelligence.»
Moscow focused on seizing Bakhmut over the winter in the hope of a much-needed success that could also serve as a springboard into the rest of the surrounding industrial heartland known as the Donbas.
Ukraine sought to wear down the Russian forces by forcing a protracted fight that became the longest and bloodiest of the war, buying time for its army to prepare a crucial counteroffensive.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy refused to provide details about where Ukraine would strike.
«Russia will feel when a counteroffensive takes place,» he said.