Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has intimated he is ready to negotiate neutral status for his country with Russia after claiming NATO and its partners are “afraid” to help them.
“We were left by ourselves. Who is ready to go to war for us? Who is ready to give Ukraine guarantees of NATO membership? Honestly, everybody is afraid.”
Kremlin spox Dmitry Peskov insisted Thursday that “neutral status and rejection of hosting [offensive] weapons systems” are President Putin’s red lines.
“Ukraine has always left and leaves space for negotiations. Including now – when Russia went on a full-scale invasion. This war must be stopped. These hostilities must be stopped,” added Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to Zelensky’s chief of staff.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message posted on his Facebook page announced that at least 137 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 316 soldiers have been wounded since the Russian invasion began early on Thursday.
The country’s Interior Ministry of Defense also announced on Thursday that all Ukrainian men ages 18 through 60 will be barred from leaving the country.
The message reads: “The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports that due to the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, the departure of a certain category of citizens from Ukraine is temporarily restricted.
“In particular, male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine. Such a rule will apply for the period of martial law. We ask citizens to take this information into account.”
This follows the Ukrainian government’s decision to give firearms to any citizens who wants to fight Russian troops.
Zelensky announced on Thursday morning that he would give weapons to anyone who wanted to defend the country from the full-scale Russian invasion that was launched during the early morning hours, which came at approximately the same time that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that a “special military operation” was underway.
