President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on volunteers from across the globe on Sunday to fly to Ukraine and assist repel Putin’s troops from the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Residents of Kyiv awakened to find their city still under Ukrainian control as the war reached its fourth day.
According to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office, “Anyone who wishes to participate in Ukraine’s defence may come to Ukraine and fight with the Ukrainians.” “There is no greater contribution to peace than you can make.”
This demand was repeated by his foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who asked citizens of other nations to contact Ukraine’s diplomatic embassies in their own countries.
Kharkiv is a city of 1.4 million inhabitants located 12 miles south of the Russian border, according to local authorities.
An underground gas pipeline in the city was reportedly destroyed overnight by Russian military, according to reports. After a massive fireball shot into the sky, officials rushed to convince the public that it wasn’t a nuclear attack.
It’s hazardous out there now, Volodymyr Tymoshko, the city’s police chief, said as he begged with citizens to stay within. “Fighting continues because of the tiny parties of the enemy that have broken into the city.”
In a video message uploaded on his Instagram account Sunday, Zelenskyy referred to the night as “terrible” throughout the nation. He said that Russian soldiers were destroying homes, kindergartens, and even ambulances.
Russia denies targeting civilians in the conflict in Ukraine.
It’s going to be difficult to gauge the severity of the conflict in Kyiv since the city will be under a severe curfew until Monday morning at 8 a.m. local time.
Russian “sabotage gangs” have been alleged to have clashed with the authorities overnight.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation, Russian munitions hit a radioactive waste site, but the extent of the damage is unknown due to ongoing shelling and missile fire.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, later claimed that no Russian troops were stationed in the city.
Intense flames depict Russia’s assault on Ukraine. According to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency, Russian forces blocked the southern Ukrainian cities of Kherson, a port and gateway to the Black Sea, and the port of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov on Sunday.
Ukraine’s southern cities, including ports, appear to have been targeted as a means of gaining control of the country’s coast.
Military and diplomats from Russia arrived in Belarus for what they claimed were negotiations with Ukraine as the conflict raged on.
According to Zelenskyy, despite the fact that his country was ready for peace talks, these could not take place in Belarus due to the Russian ally’s involvement in the invasion.
Speaking in Russian to Belarusians, Zelenskyy said: “We offered to the Russian side Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku; any other city in a country that has not been used for launching missiles.” A sincere and lasting peace can only be achieved if negotiations are conducted honestly.
It appeared as though Ukrainian resistance was stiffer-than-expected, but thousands of Ukrainians have fled to the country’s Western borders in order to avoid the fighting.
According to UNHCR, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine has reached 368,000 and is expected to rise further.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian government human rights watchdog said on Sunday that more than 210 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 1,100 were injured. The number of Russian soldiers killed or injured has not been disclosed by Moscow.