Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a briefing at the Office of the Head of State in Kyiv on 24 February 2022. He compared Russia’s invasion of his country to military campaigns carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbour. Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east, triggering condemnation from Western leaders and warnings of massive sanctions. Image: Handout / Ukraine Presidency / AFP
WATCH: ‘What are you afraid of?,’ – Zelensky to Putin in viral clip
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr has invited Russia’s Vladimir Putin for dialogue as the Kremlin continues attacking its neighbour
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a briefing at the Office of the Head of State in Kyiv on 24 February 2022. He compared Russia’s invasion of his country to military campaigns carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbour. Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east, triggering condemnation from Western leaders and warnings of massive sanctions. Image: Handout / Ukraine Presidency / AFP
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is once again reaching out to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, calling on him to engage him on solutions that will end the current crisis unfolding between both nations.
Ukraine has been under attack by Russia since last week – with Russian military officials launching air and missile strikes in cities and military bases.
Zelensky has made repeated calls, particularly for the international community to intervene as Russia continues its assault, the latest one being on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the biggest one in Europe. The nuclear power plant caught fire in the early hours of Friday, 4 March 2022, but firefighters have since managed to put it out.
WATCH: ZELENSKY CALLS OUT PUTIN
Will Vladimir Putin heed Volodymyr Zelensky’s call? It isn’t exactly clear at this stage but Putin recently indicated he would not be backing down, saying Russia’s military advance in Ukraine is “going to plan”
During the televised opening of a national Security Council meeting, Putin stood firm, saying he wouldn’t go back on his conviction that “Russians and Ukrainians are one people.”
In a viral clip, Zelensky calls out Putin and invites him for dialogue.
“Good Lord, what do you want? Leave our land. If you don’t want to leave now, sit down with me at the negotiating table. But not from 30 meters away, like with Macron and Scholz. Sit down with me and talk. What are you afraid of? We’re no threat to anyone.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky
If Putin’s discussion with France’s Emmanuel Macron is anything to go by, then Zelensky might have to prepare for the absolute worst.
“He is prepared to go all the way. He said the operations are based on the refusal of Ukrainians to put in place the Minsk agreements and on the denazification of Ukraine,” a Macron official is reported as having told international media about Putin and Macron’s meeting.
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