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Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
While informing that 137 have died in the first day of fighting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, 25 February, said that his country had been "left alone" to fight Russia after the Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "military operation" in the Donbas region on Thursday.
In a video address, Zelenskyy said, "We have been left alone to defend our state...Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone," news agency AFP reported.
Confirming that another 316 people had been wounded, Zelenskyy added, "All our border guards died a heroic death. But they have not surrendered. They will be awarded posthumously. Those who gave their lives for Ukraine will be remembered forever."
"Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid," he added.
After the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said,
In another video address, Zelensky said, "I remain in the capital. My family is in Ukraine. My children are here in Ukraine. We are not traitors, we are citizens of Ukraine. I don't have the right to say where they are. According to the information that we have, the enemy has marked me as enemy number one and my family as enemy number two."
Zelenskyy also appealed to global leaders, saying that “if you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.”
Speaking to the President of European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Zelenskyy said that "not all possibilities for sanctions have been exhausted yet.The pressure on Russia must increase".
He further expressed gratitude for her decision on additional financial assistance.
Meanwhile, loud explosions were reported in Kyiv on Thursday night as Russian ground troops moved closer to the Ukrainian capital.
(With inputs from AFP.)
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