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“May He Perish”: Zelenskyy’s Holiday Message Sends Russia into a Tailspin
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “may he perish” in a Christmas Eve address as he argued Ukrainians shared “one wish” and were praying for peace, prompting a Kremlin rebuke that called his remarks “uncultured” and “embittered,” according to The Moscow Times on December 25.
Zelenskyy did not name who the line referred to, but presumably the remark referred to the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has waged a full-scale war against Ukraine for nearly four years.
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In the address, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians were marking Christmas “in a difficult time” and said Russia could not “occupy or bomb what matters most,” which he described as Ukrainians’ “heart,” “faith in one another,” and “unity.”
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelenskyy’s words raised questions about whether he could make “adequate decisions” toward a political and diplomatic settlement, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
TASS quoted Peskov describing the remarks as “uncultured” and “embittered,” and saying Zelenskyy “looks like an inadequate person.”
Earlier, it was reported that the Kremlin rejected a proposed Christmas truce with Ukraine, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Russia would not agree to a temporary pause in hostilities, framing it as unacceptable because it could give Kyiv a chance to regroup rather than lead to a settlement.
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-cb53eb291dd042c28eca76c8b62699a1.jpg "A Polish Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft performs a fly past on June 10, 2018, in Wolverhampton, England. (Source: Getty Images)")
