According to the Ukrainian leader, the accident occurred as a result of negligence and violation of fire safety standards.
“At night, we lost eight human lives ... due to criminal negligence and ignoring the basic norms of fire safety, because of neglect of human life,” Zelensky wrote on his Facebook page.
He stated that he would personally see to it that all those guilty suffered legal punishment.
“This will be put to an end ... I will personally see to it that the punishment complies with the norms of the law and the requirements of justice,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
He also expressed condolences to the families and friends of the victims and thanked the rescuers, the police and the resident of Odessa, who hosted several hotel guests.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine opened a criminal case on the fact of a fire in a hotel in Odessa.
About 150 people were evacuated from the scene, who were placed at temporary points in buses.
The fire in the Odessa hotel "Tokyo Star" occurred on the night of August 16-17.