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World is silent and history is repeating itself: Zelensky as 5 die after Russia bombs TV tower

WION Web Team
NEW DELHIUpdated: Mar 02, 2022, 01:46 PM IST
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(File photo) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Photograph:(AFP)

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Zelensky tweeted, "To the world: What's the point of saying "never again" for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?" He added, "At least five killed. History repeating."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky put out a tweet expressing his grief and outrage over the current situation in his country after Russia bombed a TV tower in Kyiv, killing at least five people. 

Also read | Russian forces hit Kyiv TV tower; at least 5 killed

He tweeted, "To the world: what is the point of saying «never again» for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating…".

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At least five persons were murdered on March 1 as Russian soldiers fired a missile at Kyiv's major television tower and the city's largest Holocaust memorial, according to Ukrainian officials. The strike came after Russia threatened to launch "high-precision" strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

"Never again" is a motto linked with Nazi Germany's Holocaust of Jews.

The slogan can also be found on Holocaust memorials such as the concentration camp of Dachau.

Around time, the term has been used all over the world to denounce and grieve terrorist attacks and genocides.

The president of Ukraine's remark is a jab at world powers that have sworn for decades not to repeat the horrors of Nazi Germany but have remained mute on Russia's ongoing military action. 

The reference to Babyn Yar is especially significant: the ravine, which is now part of the Kyiv neighbourhood, was the site of Holocaust-era Jewish killings.

In September 1941, nearly 33,000 Jews were shot dead at Babyn Yar, making it one of the greatest mass killings under the Nazi dictatorship.

In following years, the ravine was the site of killings of Soviet Union prisoners of war and Ukrainian nationalists.

Russia has begun attacking civilian and governmental structures after failing to capture control of any major Ukrainian city six days after invading the nation. 

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The attack on the TV tower, which is located a few kilometres from central Kyiv and a short walk from multiple apartment buildings, killed five people and injured five more, according to Ukrainian officials. 

Officials reported a TV control room and a power substation were affected, and at least some Ukrainian networks went dark for a time.

Later, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, announced on Facebook that a "powerful missile attack on the territory where the (Babi) Yar memorial complex is located" was underway. 

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(With inputs from agencies)