Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation on Thursday morning after Russia launched an attack on the country overnight.
The Ukrainian leader called on all citizens who are ready to help defend the country to report to the army. He also promised to provide weapons to anyone who wanted them and asked for blood donations from wounded soldiers.
“The military is engaged in a heavy fight fighting attacks in Donbas, in the North, in the East and in the South. The enemy has had several casualties and they will be greater”, said the president.
“We have defensive weapons to defend our sovereignty”, completed Zelensky, saying that “each citizen must decide the future of our people”.
He appealed to “anyone with military experience” who can help in the defense of the country to report to military stations. “Be ready to defend your state in squares or cities,” he said.
Without providing figures, the Ukrainian president reported that there are wounded soldiers, and that there is a need for blood donation.
“We have no political opponents now. We are all citizens of a wonderful country and we stand up for our freedom,” said Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president said that the attack launched by Russia is something that “not even Germany did during the Second World War”.
“We have severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Ukraine is defending itself and must not lose its freedom. The right to defend our lives is our greatest value,” she said.
the russian onslaught
After days of escalating tensions and threats, Vladimir Putin’s Russia attacked Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday (24).
Shortly after Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine’s breakaway regions in a televised address, explosions and sirens were heard in several cities across the country, according to reports from CNN.
In his speech, Putin justified the action by stating 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.
In a video posted on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had imposed martial law in the country and urged the population to remain calm.
“Dear Ukrainian citizens, this morning President Putin announced a special military operation in Donbas. Russia has carried out attacks against our military infrastructure and our border guards. Explosions were heard in many cities in Ukraine. We are introducing martial law throughout the territory of our country,” he declared.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Putin had ordered a full-scale invasion. “Ukraine’s peaceful cities are under attack. This is a war of aggression,” he wrote.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry described Russia’s military action as an “act of war” in a statement posted on social media.
CNN reporters report explosions
Reporter Mathias Brotero, from CNN Brazilis in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and reported hearing noises that could be explosions.
Team reporters from CNN in Kiev, they heard explosions in the direction of the city’s international airport. On social media, users reported hearing several explosions in the Boryspil area, east of the capital, where the international airport is located, about 25 kilometers from the city. THE CNN did not confirm that the airport was targeted.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city located in the northeast of the country, a team from CNN reports hearing a “constant stream of explosions”.
In Kramatorsk, a city in the east of the country located about 120 kilometers from Donetsk, two people said they heard at least two explosions. In the region, controlled by separatists, artillery fire was heard on Thursday.
In Mariupol, residents told CNN who heard explosions coming from the east of the city, located in the southeast of the country. In Odessa, a team from CNN heard two sequences of explosions, about 20 minutes apart. In Zaporizhzhia, a reporting team said they heard at least one distant explosion.
Furthermore, a team from CNN in the Russian city of Belgorod, about 80 kilometers north of Kharkiv, he said he heard a steady stream of thuds that sounded like artillery fire.
* Marcio Tumen Pinheiro, Henrique Andrade, Mathias Brotero of CNN and Reuters contributed to this story
Source: CNN Brasil
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