I carry a pistol, would have fought to death if Russians stormed my office: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday (local time) revealed.

That he carries a pistol with him and said he would have fought to the death if the Russians had mounted an attack on his office in Kyiv at the start of the war.

In an interview with 1+1 television channel, Zelenskyy said he knew how to shoot and asserted it would be a disgrace if the Russians captured him.

“I know how to shoot. Can you imagine (a headline like) ‘The President of Ukraine is taken captive by Russians?’ This is a disgrace. I believe this would be a disgrace,” Reuters quoted Zelenskyy as saying to the TV channel.

During the initial stages of the war, Russian intelligence units had attempted to attack Kyiv, but Ukrainian forces defeated them following their failure to advance to Bankova Street, home to the presidential offices, said Ukrainian officials.

While other Russian units mounted an attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, they were, however, unable to proceed in the heart of the city. According to officials, there were several unsuccessful sabotage attempts inside Kyiv.

“I think if they had gone inside, into the administration, we would not be here,” Zelenskyy said. He, however, did not specify which Russian units he was talking about.

“No one would have been taken prisoner because we had a very seriously prepared defence of Bankova Street. We would have been there to the last,” he said.

The Ukrainian President also rejected a suggestion that he preferred taking his life rather than being captured by Russian forces.

“No, no, no. It’s not (to shoot) myself. To shoot back, surely,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s interview came a day after Russian forces launched the first large-scale air strikes in Ukraine in nearly two months, killing 25 people, including four children.

On February 24 last year, Russia invaded Ukraine, claiming the Zelenskyy government in Kyiv posed a threat. Ukraine has condemned the invasion and termed it an unprovoked war of conquest.