A German interpreter has burst into tears while translating a speech by the president of Ukraine amid Russia’s brutal invasion.
The journalist, who has not been named, started crying as she read out Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words for Welt.
She made it part-way through the press conference before her words were drowned out by tears through the microphone.
The politician had been giving an update on the precarious position Ukraine was in as Russian troops bang at the door to Kyiv overnight.
Meanwhile Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert over what he called ‘aggressive statements’ by NATO powers.
The journalist, who has not been named, started crying as she read out Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words for Welt
The German translator managed to translate the first bit of Zelenskyy’s speech, saying: ‘Russia is on the path of evil, Russia must loose its voice in the UN.’
She continued: ‘Ukraine, we definitely know…’ She stopped as she composed herself and pushed back her sobs.
She started to say ‘what we are defending’ before her voice started to crack and the mic went quiet.
The woman tried to take a deep breath and continue before simply saying ‘sorry’ to viewers.
Mr Zelenskyy had said: ‘The night was hard. The people rose to defend their state and they showed their true faces. This is terror.
‘They are going to bomb our Ukrainian cities even more. They are going to kill our children even more insidiously.
‘This is an evil that has come to our land and must be destroyed.’ He also gave updates on his talks with foreign powers.
Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured left) today confirmed negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow would be held at the border with Belarus – as Vladimir Putin (pictured today on a trip to the National Space Centre) ordered the forces operating Russia’s nuclear deterrent to be on alert amid simmering tensions with the West. The Ukrainian President’s office said the two delegations will meet ‘without preconditions’ near the Pripyat River, in a deal struck during a phone call with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Despite the promising press conference, the situation in Ukraine still risked boiling over as Russian troops surrounded Kyiv.
Meanwhile Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to what he called ‘aggressive statements’ by leading NATO powers.
The directive raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare, whether by design or mistake.
His step is ‘potentially putting in play forces that, if there’s a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous,’ said a senior US defence official.
Amid rising tensions, Ukraine said a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks.
But the Kremlin’s ultimate aims in Ukraine – and what steps might be enough to satisfy Moscow – remained unclear.
The fast-moving developments came as Russian troops drew closer to Kyiv, a city of almost three million.
Street fighting also broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country’s south came under pressure from the invading forces.
Yet again Ukrainian defenders put up stiff resistance that appeared to slow the invasion.
Ukrainian servicemen patrol during a curfew as Russian forces continue to advance on the third day of fighting around Kyiv
Putin attends a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov in Moscow
Ukrainian troops gather around a fire during a brief period of rest as they defend their capital, Kyiv, from Russian forces
Putin, in giving the nuclear alert directive, cited not only statements by NATO members but the hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West.
Putin told his defence minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put nuclear forces in a ‘special regime of combat duty’.
He said: ‘Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere.
‘But top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country.’
US defence officials would not disclose their current nuclear posture, except to say the military is prepared all times to defend its homeland and allies.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Putin is resorting to a pattern he used in the weeks before launching the invasion.
She said it was ‘to manufacture threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression’.
She told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that Russia has not been under threat from NATO or Ukraine.
She continued: ‘We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we’re seeing here.’
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN, in reaction to Russia’s nuclear alert: ‘This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible.’
Sky Sports News presenter Hayley McQueen reveals she cried on air after seeing reports of young children fleeing Russian troops in Ukraine
- Hayley McQueen, 42, wore a blue top and a yellow skirt on Sky News on Saturday
- Presenter donned the colours of the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with the country
- McQueen presented a segment on sports stars affected by Russia’s invasion
- She said she got emotional after seeing Sky News footage coming out of Kyev
Sky Sports News presenter Hayley McQueen revealed she cried live on air after seeing news footage of children escaping Ukraine and fathers saying goodbye to their children as Russian forces advanced on Kyiv.
The Scottish TV presenter, 42, got emotional while presenting a pre-recorded interview with John Stones which followed a segment about sport stars who have been affected by Russia’s invasion.
McQueen said today she had just been watching her Sky News colleagues reporting from the Ukraine capital Kyiv and got upset when she saw a little girl clutching a teddy bear under each arm, reminding her of her daughter Ayla.
The presenter was wearing a blue top and a yellow skirt – the colours of the Ukrainian flag – to show her support for the war-torn country amid Russia’s invasion.
Viewers were quick to praise McQueen for her ‘courageous’ gesture, while others said they hoped the presenter was ‘feeling OK’ after the ‘difficult’ report.
Hayley McQueen – showing her support by wearing the colours of the Ukraine flag – said she cried live on air after she had just seen footage of children escaping Ukraine and fathers saying goodbye to their children
Woman and children of the Donetsk region of Ukraine were evacuated on February 20 due to the Russian invasion
Posting on Instagram today, McQueen said: ‘I’ve covered many tragic stories on Sky Sports over the years & pride myself on remaining professional & keeping emotions in check but for some reason yesterday really got to me.
‘Since becoming a mother I guess I think about the world differently & have definitely become a lot more sensitive.
‘Anyhow I got a bit upset on air briefly, we started with reports on how sport is reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine & I’d just been watching my Sky News colleagues reporting from Kyiv.
‘It was images of children escaping Ukraine, fathers saying goodbye to their children, one little girl in particular was clutching a teddy bear under each arm all wrapped up in a snowsuit and hat just like my Ayla.
‘I’m a little embarrassed it got to me whilst on air but I couldn’t get the thoughts out of my head.
‘I know we have to remain impartial as journalists but I wore colours as a little something to let Ukrainians, my Ukrainian friends & work colleagues know I am thinking of them standing in solidarity in the darkest of times.
‘Thanks for the messages of concern, all my thoughts right now are with the people of Ukraine & all those effected.’
As McQueen presented a segment about sports stars who have been affected by Russia’s invasion, she became emotional
Afterwards, a number of people praised McQueen for wearing blue and yellow and for bravely carrying on with the segment despite the emotion.
Taking to Twitter, one supporter said: ‘Hope @HayleyMcQueen is feeling ok. Sounded like she started to cry during that last report off-screen’.
Another added: ‘Not sure what happened but @HayleyMcQueen seemed to have started to cry mid report on @SkySportsNews’.
Support for McQueen continued to pour in as a third supporter penned: ‘Loving @HayleyMcQueen wearing blue and yellow on@SkySportsNews’.
While a fourth wrote: ‘Thank you @HayleyMcQueen for your’ – followed by blue and yellow heart emojis – ‘this morning. Touch of class and courage. Also hope all ok with you. That was a difficult moment but you recovered brilliantly. Sending every good wish to you and yours.’
Russian forces entered Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv today after failing in their overnight efforts to seize control of the capital city of Kyiv
As fighting continues to rage in Ukraine, Kyiv and Moscow will hold peace talks at the border with Belarus, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky today confirmed.
The Ukrainian President’s office said the two delegations will meet ‘without preconditions’ near the Pripyat River, to the north of Chernobyl
Russia has so far failed to capture Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv during fighting on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
But Russian forces entered Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Sunday morning, where street battles were reported to be taking place, while pictures appeared to show one Russian military vehicle on fire.
UN reports that at least 240 Ukrainian civilians have been killed so far.
At least 200,000 people have fled Ukraine to three countries, with 150,000 said to have crossed into Poland alone.
