Zelenskiy commemorates ordeal of villagers held captive in basement

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday paid tribute to the courage of nearly 400 residents of a village in north Ukraine who were held in a school basement under Russian occupation for 27 days before they were set free a year ago.

The Ukrainian leader travelled to Yahidne, where he gave an emotional speech recalling how villagers were kept captive in a space less than 200 square metres during the first month of Russia's February 2022 invasion. He said that 11 people died during the ordeal.

"These people somehow lived and waited for Ukraine in the dark," said Zelenskiy who appeared visibly moved on the anniversary. "They lived standing and sitting." Zelenskiy was joined on the visit to Yahidne, a village in Chernihiv region, by German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric.

Zelenskiy has made several trips to front line regions in the last two weeks. Zelenskiy thanked Habeck and Buric for attending and said the basement was important for Ukraine's allies to see.

"It's important to see this and to be in these basements to understand whether to help Ukraine or to keep thinking how to find a way to talk with Russia," he said. Zelenskiy said Russian troops and the country's leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, were responsible for the tragedy.

Russia denies involvement in war crimes and has called a warrant for Putin's arrest issued by the International Criminal Court unacceptable and outrageous. "Having seen all this, I can wish the President of Russia to spend the rest of his days in a basement with a bucket for a toilet," Zelenskiy said.