Zelenskyy official says he regularly texted photos of dead Ukrainian children to officials around the world so they would send more help
Nicola Marfisi/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
- A Ukrainian official told WashPost he sent world officials photos of dead Ukrainian children.
- He said he did this early in the war to motivate them to send help, and that most of them did.
- Ukraine has spoken directly with world leaders throughout the war, urging them to help it fight Russia.
A top Ukrainian official said he spent the first few weeks of Russia's invasion trying to spur foreign officials into helping his country by texting them photos of dead Ukrainian children.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, told The Washington Post that he would send pictures of the children as well as destroyed homes in Ukraine, and that his country got more help as a result.
"I confess these were ghastly photos that were keeping me up at night," he told The Post.
"Ninety percent of the people who received them, they reacted, they called back and they started doing even more."
The officials he sent the photos to included White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan and members of the US Congress, The Post reported.
Russia has been widely criticized for hitting civilians as well as military personnel in Ukraine.
At least 972 children in Ukraine have been killed or injured since the invasion began, the United Nations said on Monday.
Ukrainian officials have spent much of Russia's invasion talking to foreign counterparts, particularly in the West, looking to shore up support and increase their weapons supply to fight back.
Early in Russia's attack, Ukrainian officials were was battling against Western assumptions that their country would quickly fall to Russia, and worried that giving weapons to Ukraine would likely mean they'd soon end up in Russian hands.
Yermak's strategy, then, was one way for Ukraine to fight against that worry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held regular calls with Western leaders and addressed groups like the US Congress, the European Union, and NATO.
In early April — a month and a half after the invasion started — he showed a graphic video to the UN that featured dead Ukrainian civilians, some of which showed signs of torture, in an effort to push the body to further punish Russia.
The UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the human-rights council two days later. It's not clear if the move was affected by Zelenskyy's video.
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