Zelensky offers exchanging Russian oligarch for Ukrainians being held captive.
In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine rejected President Vladimir V. Putin’s assertion on Tuesday that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine was going “according to the plan,” and offered to exchange a detained pro-Russian politician for Ukrainians being held captive.
Although Russia’s initial offensive near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has widely been seen as a failure because its forces failed for weeks to take the city, Mr. Putin said on Tuesday that Russia’s military “operation” was going “according to the plan.” Mr. Putin spoke on Tuesday at a news conference at a spaceport in Russia’s the Far East that appeared to be largely aimed at reinforcing Mr. Putin’s support at home.
Mr. Zelensky, speaking from Kyiv, asked what kind of plan could account for the heavy casualties suffered by Russian forces since the war began in February. American officials said last month that a conservative estimate put the Russian death toll at more than 7,000 people.
“Who could approve such a plan?” Mr. Zelensky said. “And what is the final level of their own losses acceptable for this person?”
In his address, he also remarked on the reported capture of a pro-Russian oligarch, Viktor Medvedchuk, by Ukraine’s security service. (The spokesman for the Kremlin said he could not confirm whether he had been detained.)
Mr. Zelensky proposed exchanging Mr. Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician seen as the Kremlin’s main agent of influence in Ukraine in recent years, for Ukrainians captured by Russian forces. It was “important that our law enforcement officials and military also consider this possibility,” he added.
Ukraine’s security service said on Tuesday that officers had detained Mr. Medvedchuk, who has long been considered one of Mr. Putin’s closest allies in Ukraine, and who disappeared from Kyiv around the start of the war. Mr. Medvedchuk had been hiding for weeks before trying to escape Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky said.
“Let Medvedchuk be an example for you, even the former oligarch did not escape,” Mr. Zelensky said. “We will get everyone.”
Mr. Zelensky also said that Ukraine would conduct a full investigation into an unverified claim that Russia had used a possible chemical agent in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. “It is not yet possible to draw 100 percent conclusions,” he said but added that Western leaders should respond proactively regardless.
“The world must respond now — respond preventively,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Because after the use of weapons of mass destruction, any response will not change anything. And it will only look like a humiliation for the democratic world.”
President Biden stood by his description of Russia’s actions as "genocide," telling reporters: “It’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has consistently used the term, on Twitter praised Mr. Biden's remarks and reiterated a call for more weapons.
President Biden obliquely described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide,” apparently for the first time, during a domestic speech on rising gas prices. “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” he said. (Earlier this month, Biden was asked if he thought the images of atrocities that emerged from Bucha, a Kyiv suburb, indicated genocide. "No," Biden answered, "I think it is a war crime.")
Reporting from Washington
The White House is expected this week to announce $750 million in military assistance for Ukraine to use against Russian forces, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the preliminary plans. It is not clear what weapons will be included in the package.
