During a video conference Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European heads of state that "this might be the last time you see me alive," Axios reports.
During an appearance on CNN’s "The Situation Room" Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told Wolf Blitzer that Zelenskyy remains a "prime target for Russian aggression."
He "does, in many ways, represent — even personify — the democratic aspirations and ambitions of Ukraine — of the Ukrainian people," Price said. "So of course, he would remain a prime target for Russian aggression."
According to Axios, the conference with EU leaders took place before they decided on a new round of sanctions against Russia.
A European diplomat told Axios that Zelenskyy urged the heads of state on the call to do more to help Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion.
"This morning, we are defending our country alone ... Europe said, 'Never again,' but here we are," Zelenskyy said on Friday, according to Axios.
CNN reports that Zelenskyy's intelligence indicates that Russia has marked him as "target No. 1" and his family as "target No. 2."
"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state," he said in a video statement Thursday. "We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv."
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who took part in the video conference, told the TT news agency that when EU leaders said goodbye to Zelenskyy they knew they might never see him again.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported that Zelenskyy told the EU leaders he didn't know if he would be able to speak with them again.
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