Staten Island:

As he appeared on the lacking limbs and grief-stricken faces of wounded Ukrainian troopers being handled in a US hospital, President Volodymyr Zelensky had one phrase for Russian leaders heading to a key UN summit: “terrorists.” Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday to deal with the United Nations General Assembly and plead for extra support as Ukraine painfully pushes forward with a high-stakes counteroffensive to wrest again territory from Russian forces greater than 18 months into the warfare.

Before assembly world leaders, Zelensky headed to Staten Island University Hospital, the place a bunch of Ukrainian troopers are receiving prosthetic legs and arms and rehabilitation providers.

In a big hospital room, the Ukrainian president watched as a number of troopers in khaki uniform practiced strolling and lifting weights with newly acquired prosthetic legs and arms.

Zelensky chatted with the troopers and shook their fingers — if they’d them.

Even as he tried to raise the troopers’ spirits, the Ukrainian chief was visibly shaken.

“Is it tough?” Zelensky requested one soldier.

“A little,” got here the reply.

Another soldier, who hails from the Zaporizhzhia area in southern Ukraine, the location of intense preventing, tried to placed on a courageous face.

“How are you doing? Is it difficult?” Zelensky requested.

The soldier paused, then answered: “It’s okay.”

“Stay strong,” Zelensky implored.

Nine Ukrainian troopers are at the moment present process therapy on the hospital. The clinic has helped a complete of 35 servicemen over the previous yr, in line with hospital employees and the Ukrainian-American NGO Kind Deeds which provides prostheses for warfare amputees.

Kyiv doesn’t disclose warfare casualty figures, however US officers estimate that the variety of lifeless and wounded Ukrainian troopers is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reported final month.

“Get home soon, thank you for your service,” Zelensky informed the troopers as he left the room.

In one other room, Zelensky, flanked by medical employees, informed a distinct group of troopers that their American medical doctors had been amazed by the Ukrainian servicemen’s resilience and dedication.

“He said ‘I’ve never seen people who have such a strong desire to return home,'” Zelensky stated of 1 doctor. “We all will be waiting for you to come back home, we absolutely need every one of you, every strong Ukrainian fighter in order to defeat our enemy. I am convinced that it will certainly happen.”

Zelensky then offered some troopers and hospital employees with Ukrainian state awards. 

Asked by a journalist about the potential for ending up in the identical room with Russian representatives in the course of the General Assembly, Zelensky turned somber.

“It is, for us, very important that all our words, all our messages, are heard by our partners,” Zelensky stated. “If in the United Nations still … there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not to me — I think it’s a question to all the member states.”

Zelensky posed for photographs with troopers, together with one who had prosthetics for each arms and appeared deeply traumatized. After the photograph was taken, Zelensky helped the soldier sit again down.

Due to deal with the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky headed off.

“I wish you victory and to come back home,” he informed the troopers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)