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WORLD NEWS Saturday 4 June 2022
100 speeches in 100 days of war: Zelenskyy rallies Ukraine

By LYNN BERRY a brave country” or “the
Associated Press invincible people of our
As Ukrainian President great country.” He invari-
Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells ably ends with a defiant
it, when Russia invaded 100 “Glory to Ukraine.”
days ago, no one expect- He tells them of the world
ed his country to survive. leaders he has spoken with
World leaders advised him during the day and his ef-
to flee. forts to get those leaders
“But they didn’t know us,” to send more and better
he said in a late-night vid- weapons, to inflict ever
eo address in April when more punishing sanctions
the war hit its 50th day. on Russia.
“And they didn’t know how He speaks to his fellow
brave Ukrainians are, how Ukrainians’ anger and pain
much we value freedom.” from the devastation of the
He could have been speak- country, the untold deaths.
ing about himself. No one “My heart breaks from
knew how a 44-year-old what Russia is doing to our
man who had catapult- people,” he said on March
ed himself from the world 16 after Russian bombs
of entertainment into the killed hundreds sheltering in
presidency would respond In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President a theater in Mariupol.
to an invasion by Russia’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. He salutes their courage
giant army. Associated Press and says he never gets
His response has been tired of thanking all those
forceful — and compel- he looks directly into the sion stalled. as well as to the Cannes fighting to determine the
lingly public. Zelenskyy has camera. Or forceful, ris- From the start of the war Film Festival and America’s future of Ukraine. That the
led his country in mount- ing in moral outrage as he he has dressed in various Grammy Awards. Rarely if country did not fall within
ing an unexpectedly fierce condemns the most recent shades of army green, ap- ever has a man without a days as Russia expected,
resistance. Every night, he Russian atrocities and insists pearing most often in a sim- tie addressed so many VIPs. he said on April 14, was be-
rallies Ukrainians to the fight that those responsible will ple T-shirt. The impression He also has given inter- cause millions of Ukrainians
with a video address on be punished. he leaves is clear: He’s fresh views to journalists. He held “made the most important
social media. There have As the days and weeks from the fight and about to a news conference in the decision of their life – to
been 100 so far – one for have ticked by, his unshav- get back to it. safety of the Kyiv subway. fight.”
each day of the war — in en face has grown a dark A tireless and skilled com- But his nightly video ad- He also has tried to reach
nightly reminders that he beard. He has lost his boy- municator, Zelenskyy has dress has been his favored a Russian audience, as on
has not fled, that Ukraine ish looks. The puffiness from spoken by video link to the channel for informing and April 1 when he switched
has indeed survived. sleepless nights as Russian United Nations, British Par- inspiring his fellow citizens. from Ukrainian into Russian
His actor-trained voice can troops marched on the liament, U.S. Congress and He often begins with an ex- to urge Russians to keep
be soothing, a deep, con- capital was replaced by about two dozen other par- uberant greeting to Ukraini- their sons away from the
fidential almost-whisper as new resolve when the inva- liaments around the world, ans as “the free people of war.q

Nigerian police seek abductors of prelate freed after ransom

By CHINEDU ASADU there,” the police spokes- terioration of the country’s
Associated Press man said, adding that the security that has allowed
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ni- prelate “went to Lagos as kidnappers to flourish.
geria’s police on Friday soon as he regained his “The primary purpose of
said they are still looking for freedom.” The cleric de- government is to secure
suspects in the abduction scribed his abduction at a lives and property. Any
of the head of the Method- briefing in Lagos this week. government that has failed
ist Church Nigeria who was “These people came out in that has failed woefully,”
freed in exchange for a from the bush,” Uche said. Uche said after his release.
ransom of 100 million naira “They divided themselves Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ran-
($240,600). into three places; some som business has seen more
Samuel Kanu Uche was people were at the back, than $18 million in ransoms
freed on Monday, a day some were at the center paid between 2011 and
after he was kidnapped in and there was another 2020, according to the La-
Abia in southeast Nigeria, group in front to make sure gos-based SBM intelligence
the Christian Association of that we didn’t run away. research firm. A Nigerian policeman provides security at the offices of the
Nigeria said. They fired shots at our ve- Nigeria’s federal authorities Independent National Electoral Commission in Kano, northern
Security forces “are still hicles and they eventually have been trying to stop Nigeria Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019.
looking out for the sus- abducted three of us.” the abductions for some Associated Press
pects” who abducted Uche was freed after the time, most recently through
Uche, police spokesman ransom was paid into an legislation to ban ransoms. country.” nappers and make it dif-
Geoffrey Ogbonna said. account provided by the The country’s Senate said Earlier this month, federal ficult for them to contact
“When the incident hap- kidnappers, he said. Police it would “turn around not authorities also barred calls the families of those held.
pened, policemen were have denied knowledge of only the security situation from more than 70 million But kidnappers have found
deployed to that area and the ransom. Uche criticized in Nigeria but even the unregistered phone lines in a way to get around that
up till now, they are still the government for the de- economic fortunes of our an attempt to target kid- measure, analysts say.q