In a last ditch effort to stop a full scale invasion of his country Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke directly to the Russian people and called for peace.
"I initiated a telephone call with the president of the Russian federation. Result: silence...As a result I want to address all citizens of Russia," Zelensky said, speaking Russian. "Listen to the voice of reason. The people of Ukraine want peace, the authorities in Ukraine want peace, they want it and are doing everything they can for it. We don't need war."
"You are told we hate Russian culture. How can one hate a culture? Neighbors always enrich each other culturally,” he continued. “However, that doesn’t make them a single whole. It doesn’t dissolve us into you. We are different, but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to determine, build our future ourselves, peacefully, calmly and honestly.”
He called on the citizens of Russia to stop an attack and said a military confrontation would be met with resistance.
"If we are attacked, if someone attempts to take away our land, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. We won't attack, but defend ourselves. By attacking, you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces," Zelensky said.
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The remarks came after a day of cyber attacks from Russia on Ukrainian government assets. Prior to Zelensky's remarks, Russia shut down the airspace on Ukraine's border.
#Russia has closed the airspace along the northeast Ukrainian border for civil aviation according to #NOTAM (Notice to Airmen). #UkraineCrisis https://t.co/uezDbPKCUg pic.twitter.com/cUxmJyMAEo
— Donald Standeford (@Don_Standeford) February 23, 2022
Airspace risk monitor issues "do not fly" warning for airlines flying over Ukraine, says level of tension and uncertainty now "extreme" pic.twitter.com/QPfGSKGiyJ
— BNO News (@BNONews) February 24, 2022
During an interview with NBC News, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it's possible a full invasion starts by tomorrow.
WATCH: When asked, “do you have reason to believe that before this night is over, Russian forces will be engaged in something akin to a full-scale invasion in Ukraine?”
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 24, 2022
Sec. Blinken says, “I do.” Then adds, “I can’t put a date or exact time on it.”
pic.twitter.com/JdyRNSVLFU
A reporter on the ground says there's "something bad in the air."
Something bad is in the air tonight. We're under a national emergency, airports are shutting down, military reserves have been called up. I lack the talent to express what it feels like to be in this European capital, home to millions...
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) February 24, 2022
I'm sitting here, wondering what our world is going to look like when the sun comes up a few hours from now. There's been a lot of false alarms, and I hope, hope beyond hope, that tonight is one too...
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) February 24, 2022
Kyiv is quiet right now. Not a single car on the road when I walked outside.
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) February 24, 2022
There are millions of innocent civilians here who do not want conflict.
There are no winners in war.
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