Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared a state of emergency in the country on the 24th and urged Ukrainian citizens in Russia to evacuate immediately.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy walked to the podium under a bright magnesium lamp, ready to address the Ukrainian people.
"Today I am going to say the words I have been waiting for for, and I wish to announce them with the utmost pride," he said. ”
"Finally," he continued, "Ukraine is united ... This is our victory. ”
The above plot is fictional. It is the end of the movie Servant of the People. Servant of the People is a satirical comedy about an unlucky high school teacher played by Zelensky who, after roaring at corruption, is thrust into the position of President of Ukraine.
This TV comedy not only made Zelensky a comedy star, but it also came true in real life.
In April 2019, just a month after the end of the tv series, the comedian was actually elected president of Ukraine.
After the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on Thursday (24th), the battle for the capital Kiev continued fiercely. Explosions lit up the sky, and the Kremlin launched a missile attack on the city before dawn on Friday, forcing people into bomb shelters.
In a televised speech on Friday morning, Zelensky was replayed at the end of the show.
Russia began to war in Ukraine on the 24th, the Russian army launched a 3-line invasion of land, sea and air, the sound of explosions and gunshots sounded in major cities, and the number of Ukrainian refugees was estimated to be about 100,000.
The Ukrainian president, wearing a dark green T-shirt with dark circles under his eyes, praised Ukraine's armed forces in a provocative tone for "defending the country with distinction."
"Now is an important moment," Zelensky said, "a moment to decide the fate of our country."
Zelensky is also active on social media, posting updates on his Twitter account and assuring Ukrainians that he will stay in Ukraine to lead the resistance movement.
In a video posted Saturday morning titled "Don't Believe the Lie," Zelensky revealed that he was still in Kiev.
"I'm here. We did not lay down our arms. We will defend our country. Because our weapon is the truth, and our truth is, this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend it all," he said.
"That's it. That's all I want to tell you. Glory belongs to Ukraine," he added.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Britain tweeted on Saturday that Zelensky had also rejected a U.S. offer to evacuate him from Kiev.
According to the U.S. Embassy, Zelensky replied to the U.S., "There's a fight going on here; what I need is ammunition, not a hitchhiking flight."
"Ukrainians are proud of their president," he said on Twitter.
Russia launched an onslaught on the Ukrainian capital.
Russia's all-out offensive against Ukraine began early Thursday. Moscow's forces have launched attacks from land, sea and air, sparking a barrage of international condemnation and sanctions — and questions about Putin's broader ambitions for Ukraine and its capital.
Putin described the "military action" as a necessary action after the United States and its allies expanded NATO eastward and crossed Russia's "red line."
Zelensky again called on Putin on Friday for direct talks.
"Now there are fighting all over Ukraine," he said in Russian, "let's sit down at the negotiating table and stop civilian deaths." ”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia was ready to participate in talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, according to the Russian State News Agency.
A consultant at Zelensky told CNN that Kiev is also considering the offer.
Ukraine's democratically elected government remains intact, but Putin made clear this week that he does not consider Ukraine a legitimate sovereign state.
On Friday, he called on ukrainians to overthrow Zelensky on their own.
Putin said: "The power is in your own hands. ”
"It looks like we [with you] will have an easier deal than it is for these drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have settled in Kiev and are holding the entire Ukrainian people hostage."
Putin and his government have repeatedly called the democratically elected Ukrainian government a "fascist" or "Nazi" regime.
But the accusations seem to be unjustified, as Zelensky was Jewish and his family was killed in the Holocaust.
Putin's remarks are also unlikely to provoke any form of Ukrainian uprising.
Many residents of Kiev have already left the city, and given that Ukraine's last pro-Russian leader was ousted from power in a popular uprising in 2014, those who remain are unlikely to support Putin's proposal.
Five years later, Mr. Zelensky was elected after defeating his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, but his term of office has been precarious.
In the first months of his tenure, former U.S. President Donald Trump put pressure on Ukraine to try to dig up the scandal over Biden and his son Hunter.
Subsequently, COVID-19 tore up the entire country.
Zelensky's campaign promises, such as ending the war in eastern Ukraine and eradicating corruption, remain unfulfilled.
But the danger to Zelensky is not just political.
Sources told CNN that U.S. officials warned that Russian troops entering Ukraine through Belarus were about 32 kilometers from Kiev.
Intelligence officials in Washington fear the city could fall under Russian control within days.
Gouda u.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Mr. Zelensky remained "the primary target of Russian aggression," while Zelensky himself said Russia had listed him as "the number one target."
"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state," he said. ”