aware of being a ” target “ priority of Russian forces, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, promised on Friday February 25 to remain in Kiev despite the advance of Russian troops. On the second day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces were fighting Russian military on the outskirts of the capital, Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian military to ” take power “ and to overthrow President Zelensky and his entourage, described as “neo-Nazis” and of ” drugs “.
In the evening, the Ukrainian president sent him a response, posting a video in which he appears with his collaborators in front of the presidency building: “We are all here, our soldiers are here, the citizens, society, we are all here, to defend our independence, our State”declares Mr. Zelensky.
#Ukraine President Zelensky and his administration recorded a short video addressing Ukrainians. They confirmed that… https://t.co/8BSVARlJhA
Volodymyr Zelensky also said he spoke with US President Joe Biden. On Twitterhe said he had discussed tougher sanctions on Moscow, US defense aid to Kyiv and an anti-war coalition.
“Europe is strong enough to stop this aggression”
In the morning, Zelensky on Friday invited Europeans with combat experience to travel to Ukraine to fight the Russian army. “If you have combat experience and you no longer want to watch the indecision of your political leaders, you can come to our country to defend EuropeMr. Zelensky said. How are you going to defend yourselves if you are so slow to help Ukraine? Cancel visas for Russians? Logout [du réseau interbancaire] Swift? Total isolation from Russia? Recall of ambassadors? Oil embargo? Today, everything must be on the table, because it is a threat for all of us, all of Europe. » “Europe is strong enough to stop this aggression”he insisted.
Mr. Zelensky also called on Russia to talk to Ukraine. “Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how we can end the fighting and stop the invasion. The sooner this conversation begins, the smaller the losses for Russia itself will be.”, he says in a video address. In the evening, Russia offered Ukraine to hold talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Ukraine replied that they would prefer to discuss in Warsaw, Poland.
The Kremlin has consistently refused talks with Ukraine, despite repeated requests from the Ukrainian president before the Russian invasion began on Thursday. The Ukrainian president had even said a few hours before the start of the Russian military campaign that he had tried, in vain, to reach Mr. Putin.