Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky drew comparisons between “Ruscism” and Nazism on Saturday, following another barrage of Russian missile strikes that battered cities across Ukraine.
Zelensky pointed to a particular apartment building in Dnipro that was destroyed in Saturday’s missile strikes in his nightly address.
“This apartment block in Dnipro was on a street called Naberezhna Peremohy,” he said, a phrase that translates to “Victory Embankment.” “When they gave this name to this street, they had in mind the victory over the Nazis in the Second World War.”
“Ruscists took over everything from that enemy of the free world,” Zelensky continued. “It’s obvious. And we must do everything we can to stop ruscism, just as the free world once stopped Nazism.”
More than 30 missiles were fired on cities across the country on Saturday, including Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the capital city of Kyiv, the Lviv region in western Ukraine and the southern port city of Odesa, according to Zelensky.
The missile barrage comes after Russia claimed control of the salt mining town of Soledar on Friday, marking its first major win on the battlefield in months. The Russian defense ministry said the capture of Soledar, which lies just outside Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, would allow Russian forces to block Ukrainian supply chains.