He wants to be reassuring despite the situation. The Ukrainian president called on his fellow citizens on Thursday to “not panic” in the face of the Russian offensive which is hitting their country, promising them victory, also announcing the introduction of martial law.
“Don’t panic, we are ready for anything, we will win,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook video post, adding that Russia had carried out strikes against military infrastructure and border guards.
Russian operation underway in several cities in Ukraine
Shortly after, anti-bombing warning sirens sounded in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. The ongoing Russian operation in several cities in Ukraine aims to “destroy the Ukrainian state, seize its territory by force and establish an occupation,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Kyiv also called on the international community to “act immediately” and impose new sanctions against Russia as soon as possible. “Only united and strong actions can stop the aggression of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin”, adds this text.
A military offensive to “demilitarize and denazify”
The Russian army said on Thursday targeted military sites in Ukraine with “high precision weapons”, hours after Vladimir Putin announced a military offensive to defend the separatists in the east of the country, and “demilitarize and denazify” its pro-Western neighbour. “I made the decision for a special military operation”, he said, chilling, in a surprise statement on television shortly before 3 a.m., renewing his unfounded accusations of “genocide” orchestrated by Ukraine in the east of the country, arguing the call for help from the separatists announced overnight and NATO’s aggressive policy towards Russia and of which Ukraine would be the tool.