"We have been left alone to defend our state," Zelensky said in a post-midnight video address to the nation. "Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.”
He said that Russian forces had reached Kiev and asked residents to be watchful and adhere to a curfew.
Despite Russia's designation of him as target number one, Ukraine's President stated he and his family will remain in the country.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted in a statement that Russia will come to terms with Ukraine in case it agreed to stay neutral, and not maintain any Western weapons on its territory.
Peskov emphasized that discussions about the terms of surrender would generally involve Ukraine's demilitarization and denazification.
President Zelensky said that he is not frightened to discuss neutrality, despite the fact that his plea for NATO membership remained rebuffed by European leaders.
While Ukraine was left to face Russia, mercy appeals from the west have started pouring in.
The UN refugee agency was prompt to declare that approximately 100,000 people have been internally displaced; with thousands more having fled Ukraine since the fighting began.
The European Union launched what it called “the harshest package of sanctions” on Moscow early Friday targeting 70% of the Russian financial industry and critical state-owned enterprises.
In a press conference, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that a fresh round of sanctions "will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action, in close coordination with our partners and allies.” She added that Russian assets and banks' access to bloc’s financial markets will be frozen and blocked.
On Thursday, the United States unveiled a fresh round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting five main Russian banks. Consequently, Canada, Australia, and UK have taken similar steps.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that Paris remained useful to leave this path open so that the day when the conditions can be fulfilled, we can obtain a cessation of hostilities.
The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted that lawmakers demand to provide Ukraine with US$600 million for lethal defense weapons.
"What we're doing with Ukraine is making sure that we have humanitarian assistance to help the people; that we have lethal defense weapons going into Ukraine to the tune of US$600 million for them to fight their own fight," she told reporters in San Francisco.
Moral of the story is, “The outcomes of trust on the Western countries bear no fruit. The western countries especially the United States have over and over proven that they will always lay out conditions to trigger a kind of crisis in various countries to capitalize on their weaknesses. Once fallen, these will be left stranded”.
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