Ukraine President Makes Emotional Video, Says We’re All Here Defending Our Independence

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a self-shot video from central Kyiv vowing to stay and defend the capital against Russian invasion with top advisors.

“We’ve all arrived. Our armed forces have arrived. The citizens of society have arrived. “We’re all here to defend our independence, our country, and we’ll keep it that way,” Zelensky said outside the White House.

Zelensky appeared to be responding to pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing olive green military-style gear and standing with his prime minister, chief of staff, and other key aides.

On Friday, Russian troops clashed briefly with Ukrainian forces for the first time in Kyiv.

Larger forces are closing in on the capital, and residents are braced for a night of air attacks.

Meanwhile, Putin called Zelensky’s government “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis” in a televised address from Moscow, pushing the Ukrainian military to revolt.

Many Western officials have backed Zelensky in his fight against Putin’s invasion, and European Union chief Charles Michel even tweeted a video of the Ukrainian leader.

Michel stated, “The spirit of a free and democratic Ukraine is strong.”

The European Union is about to slap additional economic sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion, and Putin has been placed on a sanctions list for the first time.

Kyiv, on the other hand, has been pressuring EU and NATO countries to do more, particularly in terms of delivering advanced weaponry and blocking Russia from global financial networks.