Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an impassioned plea to his countrymen to drive the invading Russian army out of their land.
Speaking in televised broadcast on Saturday night he told Ukrainians they have "withstood the blow" of Russia's invasion as he urged citizens to continue fighting.
Mr Zelensky told the country that the time has come for them to launch a fightback.
"You need to go out and drive this evil out of our cities," he said.
The call came on the tenth day of the Russian invasion which has seen Russian forces inflicting terrible damage on Ukrainian cities, town and villages, and has created the biggest refugee crisis on the European continent since World War 2.
Russia n troops appear to have failed in their initial plan to quickly seize most major cities, including Kyiv, the capital, and the second largest city Kharkiv. They made some progress in the south but here too, the city of Mariupol, which was thought to be one of their primary targets,, has so far continued to resist despite constant bombardment.
Many military analysts still think that Russia, with bigger forces and more extensive and modern armaments will eventually prevail militarily. But perhaps a taste of what is to come is in the city of Kerson in the South of the country, and the only one to fall to Russian control so far. Here there have been large demonstrations as civilians demonstrated against Russian occupation. Russia troops are reported to have shot at demonstrators to disperse the crowd.
In the meantime, Russian president Vladimir Putin appears to once again be questioning the very existence of the Ukrainian state.
"The current (Ukrainian) authorities must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing, they are putting in question the future of Ukrainian statehood," Putin said on Saturday.
"And if this happens, they will be fully responsible."
For others however, the Ukrainian state now appears stronger than ever. The resilience of the Ukrainian people, the unity of the population and the astuteness of its president have take friend and foe by surprise. From the ashes of this war we are likely to see a much stronger Ukraine emerging.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
Photo: Russian airborne forces during drills near the Sea of Azov in 2021 (Archive picture/Reuters)
