As Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Friday night, courageous Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, displayed his mettle and called on Ukrainians to “burn down enemy’s tanks and armor with whatever means”.
Zelenskyy, in his latest televised address, called on Ukrainians to “stand firm this night. The fate of Ukraine is at stake right now. Everyone capable of defending, please help our military. Burn down enemy’s tanks and armor with whatever means. The night ahead will be hard, very tough but there will be dawn after it.”
The Ukrainian President was surrounded by his advisers and wearing combat fatigues.
Ukrainian and Russian government officials are working to arrange possible negotiations to end the fighting.
Ukrainian and Russian government officials are working to arrange possible negotiations to end the fighting
Although thousands of refugees continued to flee the country, several Ukrainian officials vowed to remain in Kyiv and fight against the aggression.
According to a spokesman for Zelenskyy, Ukrainian and Russian government officials are working to arrange possible negotiations to end the fighting.
Zelenskyy warned during the televised address that he believed Russian troops would storm the capital overnight.
“The night will be more difficult than the day,” he said, as the sound of shelling and loud booms from airstrikes could be heard over Kyiv. We cannot lose Kyiv,” he said.
The mayor of Kyiv and a legendary boxer, Vitali Klitschko, also said he will stand and fight for his city alongside his brother Wladimir, also a former heavyweight champion boxer.
“I don’t have another choice,” Vitali said.
“Words are followed by missiles and tanks. Destruction and death come upon us. We will defend ourselves with all our might and fight for freedom and democracy,” Wladimir wrote on Linkedin Thursday.
Several members of Ukraine’s parliament said they were remaining in the city and prepared to defend themselves as Russia’s military continued its attack.
Leader of the political party Holos, Kira Rudik, maintained on Friday that “I’m at the center of Kyiv and I will remain here. I’m a member of parliament and the leader of the party. It is my duty to be here.”
Rudik said she hid in a bomb shelter multiple times since the Russian military launched its attack on Ukraine Thursday morning.
“There is lots of stress and it is not really helping the morale of the people, being under the airstrikes all the time,” she said.
Putin will never catch Ukraine, no matter how many soldiers he has, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has