A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an impassioned plea for help to the world Tuesday, thanking the West for its support and saying his country would not yield to the overwhelming might of the Russian military.
“We will not give up and we will not lose,” Zelenskyy said to a rousing ovation from the British parliament via video from Ukraine. “We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land whatever the costs.”
Zelenskyy acknowledged the costs have been high, citing Russian missile strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians, including children, and devastated residential neighborhoods in Ukraine’s largest cities.
That danger continued into Wednesday morning, when an air alert was declared in and around Kyiv. Residents were urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible.
“Kyiv region – air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters,” regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.
Earlier Tuesday, the first corridor intended to allow civilians to escape safely from Ukraine’s battered cities opened, a significant move met with skepticism after similar efforts failed. Ukrainian officials said the corridors still were impossible for civilian use due to continued Russian shelling.
The Russian military has countered the claim, alleging that Ukraine only has allowed civilians to use one corridor from the city of Sumy and blocked other routes from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said Tuesday that the Russian military has announced it will stop firing at 10 a.m. Wednesday to let civilians leave safely via the corridors. He suggested setting up a hotline between Russia and Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation.
Latest developments:
►Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan deal early Wednesday by providing $13.6 billion to help Ukraine and European allies as Russia’s assault has devastated Ukrainian cities and prompted Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II. Get the Everyone’s Talking newsletter in your inbox.
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►Zelenskyy said more than 50 children have been killed in the war: “The scariest figure was the 50 Ukrainian children killed in 13 days of war. But then in an hour it became 52 children. I will never forgive this. And I know that you will never forgive the occupiers.”
►President Joe Biden announced a ban on the U.S. import of Russian energy, saying the U.S. is “targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy.” Britain, more dependent than the U.S. on Russian energy, announced that it would phase out the import of Russian oil over the next year.
►McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Electric all announced Tuesday they were suspending their business in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
► Booking Holdings, which brands include popular travel sites Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak, announced it suspended bookings in Russia and its ally Belarus.
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