Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's unsure if Russian President Vladimir Putin 'is still alive'.
Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, at the Victor Pinchuk Foundation on January 19, 2023, the Ukraine head of state discussed whether peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were taking place.
Watch below as he questions if the Russian dictator is still alive:
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When asked about possible peace talks between Russia, Zelenskyy said: "This is not the cinema where you are waiting for a film to start.
"This is a big tragedy."
He went on to talk about Putin's alleged lack of involvement in the negotiations and then question if the 70-year-old is still alive.
Zelenskyy said: "Right now I don’t understand who to talk to?"
"I am not sure whether the president of Russia is still alive," he added.
"I don’t understand that he’s still alive or that it is him particularly making decisions."
Currently there is no evidence to support his claims that Putin has died, particularly because the Russian president spoke yesterday (18 January) at a meeting with veterans during a visit to St Petersburg.
The meeting took place to mark the 80th anniversary of the Red Army breaking the Nazi siege of the city on January 18 1943.
Putin was pictured laying a wreath at the city’s Piskaryov memorial cemetery where 420,000 civilian victims of the siege and 70,000 Soviet soldiers are buried.
The Russian leader put flowers in a section where his brother, who died as a child during the siege, was buried in a mass grave.
The 70-year-old also alleged that Moscow’s actions in Ukraine are intended to stop a 'war' that has been raging in eastern Ukraine for years.
Russia have claimed that they want to arrange a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.
“Large-scale combat operations involving heavy weapons, artillery, tanks and aircraft haven’t stopped in Donbas since 2014,” he said.
“All that we are doing today, as part of the special military operation, is an attempt to stop this war. This is the meaning of our operation – protecting people who live on those territories.”
He alleged that Russia tried to negotiate a peaceful settlement before sending in troops, but 'we were just duped and cheated'.
