Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said the Russian troops are now currently occupying almost 20 per cent of his country's territory.
"Russian troops invaded 3,620 populated localities of Ukraine. 1,017 of them have already been liberated, another 2,603 need to be liberated. As of today, about 20 per cent of our territory is controlled by the occupiers, almost 125,000 square km. It is much more than the area of all Benelux countries combined," Zelenskyy said in his address to politicians and the people of Luxembourg.
Zelenskyy added that Russia had launched the war against Ukraine eight years ago. From 2014 to February 24, 2022, Russia controlled almost 43,000 square km of Ukraine's territory - Crimea and a third of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
He further said that currently about 300,000 square km of Ukraine's territory are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance.
Meanwhile, the President has also claimed that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country.
The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation on Wednesday, which was International Children's Day.
He said Ukraine would punish those responsible but first, it would show Russia on the battlefield that Ukraine cannot be conquered, that its people will not surrender and its children will not become the property of the occupiers.
(With IANS and AP inputs)
