Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, called Russian President Vladimir Putin “the ultimate evil” following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“[P]Utin is the ultimate evil who fears all competition.life of [R]Russians are nothing to him,” Yermak wrote on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.
“Everyone seeking negotiations must realize that he cannot be trusted. The only language he understands is force,” he added.
Russian prison authorities said Friday that Navalny became unwell while taking a walk, lost consciousness and died. U.S. officials and democratic leaders around the world have blamed Putin for Navalny’s death.
“It is clear that he was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who suffered and were tortured because of this one person.” Zelenskiy said on Friday.according to the translation.
“Putin doesn’t care who dies as long as he maintains his position. That’s why he can’t leave anything behind. Putin must lose everything. He can’t leave anything behind. He must take responsibility for what he did,” Zelenskyy continued.
The comments came as the House of Representatives struggles to pass President Biden’s additional aid package, which includes funding for Ukraine.
As Russia approaches the second anniversary of its first formal invasion of Ukraine, national security officials are stressing the importance of further military assistance to Ukraine.
Supporters of support for Ukraine say Navalny’s death is a sign of the importance of helping Ukrainians to topple Putin.
“Make no mistake about it,” Biden said at a news conference Friday. “President Putin is responsible for Mr. Navalny’s death. President Putin is responsible. What happened to Mr. Navalny is further proof of Mr. Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.”
The president told a news conference that Navalny’s death “reminds us of the stakes of this moment” and called on House Republicans to pass billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.
“We must provide funding so Ukraine can continue to defend itself against President Putin’s heinous onslaught and war crimes,” Biden said.
“History is watching this House,” Biden added. “Our failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
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