In his latest video message on Saturday (26), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainians: “We have successfully resisted and repelled enemy attacks. Fighting continues in different cities and regions of our country.”
Zelensky said the capital Kiev and the main cities around it were still under the control of the army.
“We ruined their plans. They have no advantage over us,” she said.
He said Russia hit residential areas using rockets, adding: “The destruction of residential buildings by missiles and artillery is the final argument for the world to be on our side to stop the occupiers’ invasion.”
Zelensky said Ukraine now has “almost full support from EU members to exclude Russia from SWIFT” – the international payments system that is at the center of a debate over sanctions against Russia.
“I hope that Germany and Hungary are brave enough to support this decision,” he said.
He also said that Ukraine deserves its membership of the European Union. “Now the decisive moment has come to end the many years of discussions” over Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
He again appealed to the Ukrainians to resist the Russian invasion.
“Every Ukrainian should have one thing in mind: if you can stop and destroy the invaders – do it. Everyone who can go back to Ukraine – go back to defend Ukraine,” he declared.
He also appealed to volunteers from abroad. “All friends who want to join us – please come, we will give you weapons.”
Switching to the Russian language, Zelensky returned to speak directly to the Russians.
He thanked Dmitry Muratov, head of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and others in Russia for their anti-war activism, and said: “Russians are being sent to die by the thousands and to kill.”
understand the conflict
After months of military escalation and intemperance on the Ukrainian border, Russia attacked the Eastern European country. At dawn this Thursday (24), Russian forces began to bomb several regions of the country – follow the repercussion live on CNN.
Hours earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a “special military operation” in the Donbas region (eastern Ukraine, where the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are located, which he recognized as independent).
What was seen in the following hours, however, was an attack on almost the entire Ukrainian territory, with explosions in several cities, including the capital Kiev.
According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of deaths have been confirmed in the armies of both countries.
In his speech before the attack, Putin justified the action by saying that Russia could not “tolerate threats from Ukraine”. Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to “put down your weapons and go home”. The Russian leader further stated that he will not accept any kind of foreign interference.
This attack on the former Soviet neighbor threatens to destabilize Europe and involve the United States.
Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine for the past year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery at the country’s gates.
In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have been unsuccessful.
The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has set off the continent’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous confrontation between Western powers and Moscow.
*With information from Sarah Marsh and Madeline Chambers of Reuters and Eliza Mackintosh of CNN
Source: CNN Brasil

I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.