Ukrainian forces resolutely defending major cities against Russian attacks: Envoy

By Mehmet Sah Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) – Ukrainian forces are resolutely defending all major cities from Russian attacks, Ukraine’s envoy to Turkiye said on Saturday.

“The enemy is trying to capture our big cities. We have withstood all these attacks,” Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said at an event in the Turkish capital Ankara.

He said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has “refused to be evacuated from the besieged” capital Kyiv and “continues to lead our country and our defense.”

“Do not believe Russian propaganda, trust Ukraine,” the envoy said.

Bodnar termed Russia’s attack on Ukraine a “genocide that aims to wipe out the Ukrainian people and state.”

“For centuries, they (Russia) have tortured their neighbors, occupied their land, and now we are standing up to them,” he said.

He said Russian attacks have killed dozens of civilians and inflicted heavy infrastructural damage.

“All people living in Ukraine are suffering due to this war. This is World War III, not just a war against Ukraine,” Bodnar asserted.

He said Belarus was already involved in the war and “Russia also wants to include Kazakhstan.”

The diplomat urged all countries to “start supporting Ukraine or stop supporting the aggressor.”

Bodnar thanked Turkiye for its support to Ukraine during the ongoing crisis.

He said the Ukrainian Embassy will open a bank account in Turkiye for people to send donations for those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

In a televised address, Putin said the people of Donbas asked Russia for help, claiming that he wanted to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

Fighting on the third day of the attack is said to have reached the streets of Kyiv.

Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of trying to install a puppet government, vowing that Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.​​​​​​​