Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Monday that tens of thousands of people were likely killed in Russia’s attack on the southeastern city of Mariupol, as he begged Seoul for military assistance it might provide.
“Despite the fact that Mariupol has been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have died, the Russians are continuing their offensive,” Zelenskiy said in a video speech to South Korean MPs.
Reports corroborate severe wreckage in Mariupol, but they were unable to confirm the veracity of his claim of the number of people killed in the city, which is sandwiched between eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian-backed separatists and Russian-annexed Crimea.
Zelenskiy would not say which weaponry he was looking for, but he did say that South Korea has a lot of weapons that might help not only save the lives of ordinary Ukrainians but also deter Russia from attacking other countries.
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“Ukraine requires a variety of military technologies, ranging from airplanes to tanks,” he explained through an interpreter.
“South Korea may be able to assist us.”
Suh Wook, the South Korean defense minister, and Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian defense minister, spoke by phone on Friday at Reznikov’s request.
According to Seoul’s defense ministry, Reznikov thanked Suh for sending humanitarian relief and supplies and requested that South Korea supply anti-aircraft weapons.
