137 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian attack: Zelenskyy

At least 137 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in attacks by Russian forces. Besides, 316 soldiers had been wounded, claimed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. – reports CNN. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the remarks in a video message on Thursday night, local time, on social media Facebook.

“It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve talked to foreign leaders,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “At this point, I heard some things.” 

The first of these is that - “we have received support”. I am grateful to those who have helped us, not just in words, but firmly. But another thing is that “we have been left alone to build resistance”. Who is ready to join in the fight with us? Honestly, I don’t see anyone, the Ukrainian President remarked.

“Today, I have talked to 27 European leaders about whether Ukraine should remain in NATO,” he said. “All of them were scared, did not answer. But we are not afraid, we are not afraid to do anything.”

Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “military operation” in the Donbas region of Ukraine. At the same time, he said, clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces were “inevitable”, reports International media.

Shortly after his announcement, the sound of explosions was heard from time to time in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The first explosion was heard shortly after 5 am. A total of four to five explosions took place, reported BBC, CNN and other international media.

The Kyiv administration claims that “50 Russian and 40 Ukrainian soldiers” were killed in the first hours of the attack. Besides, at least 10 civilians were killed in clashes between the two sides, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters.