'Russian Troops Intended to Kill My Family in Early Days of War': Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(Photo: AP/PTI)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Time magazine, revealed that Russian troops had come extremely near to capturing him and his family.

The leader of the crisis-ridden nation expressed that his memories of inital days of the Russian invasion exist in a "fragmented way”. He added that his wife, Olena Zelenska, had woken up their 17-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son as explosions outside were heard through the city.

As Russian troops advanced into the city of Kyiv on 24 Feburary, Zelenskyy told the magazine, that his military informed him of the Russian army's intention to kill or capture him and his family.

Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said, "Before that night, we had only ever seen such things in the movie," iterating how the presidential compound was sealed consequently.

A gate at the rear entrance was blocked with a pile of police barricades and plywood boards, resembling a mound of junkyard scrap more than a fortification, the Time article read.

The Ukrainian president also recalled when he first stepped out of the bunker saying, "In those first days we went out without any photos or any kind of news stories. The guards told me: Look, if you want to drive out, then we can’t make it public anywhere. We did not involve the press service. We drove out to look at the checkpoints, our soldiers and how they are doing."

Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes were launched into Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Thursday, 28 April, during United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres' visit, wounding at least 10.

This is the first such rocket attack on the capital since mid-April.