Ukraine’s youngest MP is receiving ‘on the job’ military training, and has been seen carrying an AK-47 around Kyiv in a bid to defend his country against the Russian invasion.
Despite being just 26 years old, Sviatoslav Yurash is a member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party.
In an interview with the Independent, Sviatoslav explained how he never received military training in high school, but now he’s experienced more than he could’ve imagined as part of the civilian resistance to Russia’s attack.
The MP shared a picture of himself in Kyiv bearing an AK-47 assault rifle across his shoulder, writing, ‘The battle for Kyiv has begun.’
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Speaking to the publication, he explained, ‘This is the defining moment for our nation. We either fight and survive, to live on to next generation, or we fall.
‘We are trying to battle on to honour the sacrifice made by our ancestors who made the same choices at every single point in our history.’
He added, ‘And this is nothing compared to my great-grandfather who survived Stalingrad and then went on to liberate Europe, or my great grandmother who lived through genocide by hunger and the Soviet Union.
‘The point is, we are having our generational struggle with Russia. We shall win that one too, as long as we resist.’
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Sviatoslav went on to accuse Vladimir Putin of violating international laws, saying the Russian army has purposely targeted civilian locations.
‘It’s not just me saying that, you can watch the footage yourself and see exactly the evidence from all over Ukraine,’ he said.
‘All over Ukraine, people are getting killed by the Russians in a step-by-step effort to try and terrify our nation. In reality, what they achieve is the opposite of that; we are ever more defiant in the face of the Russian aggression.’
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Last week, a fire broke out at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine – as a result of shelling by Russian forces.
Although the fire was extinguished, the attack created international fear over nuclear safety.
Speaking about the incident, Sviatoslav said, ‘In that city where the power station is, my family lives there, and they said their neighbours from an adjacent area were hit by Russian artillery. There is nothing of military value in that area.’
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He went on to explain, ‘The Geneva Conventions make it very clear [that civilians should not be targeted]. Yet Russia is breaking every single international process, every international rule of engagement.’
As bombs rain down on the Ukrainian capital, Zelenskyy has shared a video online that proves he is working from his office in Kyiv.
While many world leaders would hole-up in a bunker and lead from there, Zelenskyy is adamant that he will not leave the capital until the Russian invasion is over.
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If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Topics: Ukraine, Russia, World News
Daisy Phillipson