'The enemy will have no chance in People's war': Zelensky calls Ukrainians to fight Russia

As Ukraine remains threatened by advancing Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday delivered an impactful address to the embattled nation, saying that "we will fight as long as it takes." In a short public address, Zelensky said that the "world has seen Ukrianiane are in their nativcae land and will never give up." Vowing to defend the country under gravest circumstances, he added, "we will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country."

"We will fight as long as we need to. Even if children are born in shelters, the enemy will have no chance in this People's War," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"We withstood and successfully repel enemy attacks. The fighting continues. In many cities and districts of our state. But we know what we are defending. The country, the land, the future of children. Kyiv and key cities around the capital are controlled by our army. The invaders wanted to block the center of our state and put their puppets here, as in Donetsk. We broke their plan," he added.

Zelensky's powerful and inspirational address to the nation comes as Russian forces are engaged in combatting the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine and northern Kyiv. Citizens in Kyiv have been asked to take shelter as reports of the Russian army advancing towards Kyiv have been doing rounds. On Friday, Russian forces have annexed Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant near Pripyat where a nuclear accident occurred in 1986. The area is said to be radioactive still. Meanwhile, at least 198 people, including civilians and military personnel have been killed and over 1,000 in Ukraine, the country's health ministry informed.

Russia invades Ukraine

The developments come as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has transpired into war after Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 unleashed military operations on Ukraine after months of unabated military build-up along the eastern Europe borders of nearly 1,50,000 soliders. Despite intensifying forces at the eastern borders of Ukraine for over months Putin and his cabinet have repeatedly suggested they pose no threat to Ukraine's sovereignty. However, on February 21, Putin signed a decree unilaterally recognising two breakaway regions of Ukraine as "independent." The decision drew severe flak from world leaders.

The "unprovoked" attack on Ukraine's territorial integrity is a "severe" violation of international order, world leaders at the UN Security Council (UNSC) open meeting said on Tuesday. Shortly after, Western powers, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the European Union (EU), and many more have imposed hefty penalties on Russia, aiming to "suffocate its regime." Yesterday, Canada and the US imposed fresh sanctions on Putin, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and several other senior officials of the Kremlin.

(Image: @VolodymyrZelensky/Facebook)