US Can Help 'Target No. 1' Get Out of Kyiv. He Won't Leave

As the world watches developments in the Russia invasion of Ukraine, all eyes are on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been calmly leading his country through the turmoil. And he has the chance himself to get out of the capital of Kyiv, with reports of help offered from the US to evacuate him. So far, though, Zelensky seems to have no intention of leaving. "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride," Ukraine's Embassy to the UK quoted Zelensky as saying on Saturday. A senior US intelligence official confirms the Zelensky quote to the AP, adding that the president so far remains "upbeat."

The embassy added in its tweet: "Ukrainians are proud of their President." CNN notes that Zelensky also put out a video early Saturday in which he said he was still in Kyiv and that people shouldn't believe disinformation claiming otherwise. "I am here," he said in the video. "We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this." He concluded: "That is it. That's all I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine." Zelensky, who has a wife and two children, has said his family is still in Ukraine, too, but he's staying mum as to where.

US and Ukrainian officials confirm to the Washington Post that the US is on standby to help Zelensky if he needs it, as his life personally is in danger. "According to the information we have, the enemy has marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2," he told Ukrainians in a Friday speech. "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." A senior US official tells the Post that the US has been having recent conversations with Zelensky about his security, including recommendations on the best places for him to hunker down and keep Ukraine's government effective. "We stand ready to assist him in any way," says Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee. (More Volodymyr Zelensky stories.)