New Delhi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Wednesday said that Moscow is blocking humanitarian access to the port city of Mariupol as it wants to hide evidence of "thousands" of people killed by Russian forces there, reported news agency AFP.
"The reason why we cannot get into Mariupol with the humanitarian cargo is precisely because they are afraid... that the world will see what is going on there," Zelensky told Turkey's Haberturk TV, as reported by AFP.
Speaking further the Ukrainian President said, "I think it's a tragedy there, it's hell, I know that it's not tens, but thousands of people, different people, who have been killed there and thousands wounded."
Zelensky, however, said that he is confident that Russia would not succeed in hiding evidences of the atrocities and killings committed by them in Mariupol.
"They will not be able to hide all of this and bury all of these Ukrainians who died and who are injured. It's just such a number, it's thousands of people, it's impossible to hide," said Zelensky, as reported by AFP.
The Ukranian President also spoke about how Russia has been trying to hide evidence of crimes in the town of Bucha where a mass grave was discovered. Ukraine has accused Moscow of carrying out widespread killings of civilians in the region.
"They burned families. Families. Yesterday we found again a new family: father, mother, two children. Little, little children, two. One was a little hand, you know," Zelensky said. "That's why I said 'they are Nazis'."
When asked about the ongoing peace talks with Russia and whether it will have any impact on the war Zelensky said, "they will have to take place anyway. I think it is difficult to stop this war without it."