Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has charged civilians to defend the country from Russian forces, assuring that Kyiv will issue weapons to everyone who wants them.
Gatekeepers News reports that Russia on Thursday launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II.
The Ukrainian leader also urged Russians to come out and protest against the war.
“To everyone in the Russian Federation who has not lost their conscience, it’s time to come out with protests against the war with Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy further appealed to global leaders to provide defence assistance to Ukraine and help protect its airspace from Russian aggression.
“I talked to (US President Joe) Biden, (UK Prime Minister) Johnson, (President of the European Council) Charles Michel, (Polish President Andrzej) Duda, (Lithuanian President Gitanas) Nauseda,” he said.
“We started putting together an anti-Putin coalition. I have already urged global leaders to slam Putin with all possible sanctions, offer large-scale defence support and close the airspace over Ukraine for the aggressor. Together we must save Ukraine, save the democratic world, and we will do it.”
Meanwhile, about 40 people have been killed so far in Russia’s invasion, according to Oleksii Arestovich, Zelenskyy’s adviser.
Arestovich also said that dozens of people have been wounded but did not specify whether the casualties included civilians.
