Kyiv—President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Ukraine’s force had halted the Kremlin’s push to capture Kyiv and oust him and urged Russians to pressure leader Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion.
Speaking in a new video address, Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking to overthrow him and establish a puppet state in Ukraine.
“We’ve derailed their plan,” the 44-year-old leader said, stressing that the Ukrainian army was in control of the capital Kyiv and main cities around it.
But the Kremlin on Saturday accused Ukraine of prolonging the military conflict by refusing to negotiate as Russia pressed on with its invasion of the pro-Western country.
“In connection with the expected negotiations, the Russian president yesterday afternoon ordered the suspension of the advance of the main forces of the Russian Federation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call.
“Since the Ukrainian side refused to negotiate, the advance of the Russian forces resumed this afternoon.”
Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance was deploying its rapid response force for the first time ever to bolster defenses in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It is still a fluid situation. What we have seen is that the Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on the invading Russian forces,” Stoltenberg said after a video summit of NATO leaders.
“It is a full invasion of Ukraine. They are moving towards Kyiv and the stated goal is to change the government of Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg’s warned that the Kremlin’s aggression had created a “new normal”, threatening Europe’s broader security beyond non-NATO member Ukraine.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu asked Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to end the military operation in Ukraine during a phone call on Saturday, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Ankara has repeatedly called the Russian invasion of Ukraine “unacceptable.”
Cavusoglu told Lavrov that further escalation of military tensions would not benefit anyone, the source, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Turkey had offered to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Saturday that the world must brace for a long war between Russia and Ukraine.
“I can tell you one thing this morning it is that this war will last,” Macron’s told France’s annual agriculture fair.
“This crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences,” Macron added, warning: “We must be prepared.”
Zelensky said Russians have deployed “missiles, fighters, drones, artillery, armored vehicles, saboteurs, and airborne forces” against Ukraine and have hit “residential areas.”
Zelensky said Ukrainians had been fighting against Russians troops in a number of cities including the southern city of Odessa, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the capital Kyiv. The western city of
Lviv and other cities in western and central Ukraine have been targeted with air strikes, he said.
Ukraine, Zelensky said, has “already” earned the right to join the European Union and urged the EU leaders to make that decision.
“This will be key evidence of our country’s support,” he said.
Zelensky also urged Germany and Hungary to back severing Russia from
the SWIFT banking system to punish Moscow for invading his country.
“There is already almost full support from the EU countries to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. I hope that Germany and Hungary will have the courage to support this decision,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president — a former comedian who came to power in 2019 — also thanked Russians who spoke out against the war and asked them to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin.
“Simply stop those who are lying to you, lying to us, lying to the entire world,” he said.
“Thousands of victims. Hundreds of those taken prisoner,” he added.
“The sooner you tell your government that the war must immediately stop, the more of your people will survive.”
On Thursday, Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has killed 198 civilians, including three children, according to Kyiv and sparked fears of a greater conflict in Europe.
The Netherlands and Norway said Saturday they were moving their embassies in Ukraine to Poland after Russia’s invasion of the pro-Western country.
Their decision came a day after Sweden decided to close its mission in Ukraine.
“Ambassador Jennes de Mol and his team will immediately move to Jaroslaw, on the Polish side of the border with Ukraine, to continue their work there,” the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement.
Norway said its embassy in Kyiv was “temporarily closed and will operate until further notice” from Warsaw.
Prior to the Russian invasion, The Hague had already moved its embassy in Kyiv to Lviv, 70 kilometres (40 miles) from the Polish border in the west of Ukraine last Sunday.
Since then, nearly 30 Dutch citizens living in Ukraine have contacted the embassy for help, either for travel documents, advice on moving to Poland, or simply for food or someone to talk to, the ministry said.
But the situation was now becoming “increasingly dangerous in Lviv”, too, the ministry said, adding that the authorities would continue to help any Dutch citizens wanting to leave Ukraine.
“If necessary and the security situation allows, team members will also cross over to the Ukrainian side of the border to provide assistance.”
The Netherlands had advised its citizens to leave Ukraine on February 12.
“Our advice to Dutch citizens is still to leave the country if it is safe to do so, or if not, to look for a safe place,” the ministry said. “It’s not a question of the Dutch government evacuating people.”