Russia: Zelenskyy Offers Weapon To Citizens As Casualties Rise To 40 In Ukraine

Special adviser to the president, Oleksii Arestovich, disclosed this on Thursday while reacting to a recent bomb explosion in the country.

Tracknews had reported earlier that a bomb explosion today in the southern Odesa region, killed at least six people with scores injured.

A fresh update, however, reaching this news platform at the moment confirmed that about 40 people have been killed so far in the Russian attack on the country.

Arestovich told newsmen on Thursday many people have been wounded in the recent attack. He noted that the president had said Ukraine was ready to hand weapons to all those willing to defend the country.

“The future of the Ukrainian people depends on every Ukrainian,” Arestovich quoted President Zelenskyy as saying, asking all those who can defend the country to come to the interior ministry’s assembly facilities.

In a televised address earlier, Russia Putin accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demand to stop Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.

He also said Russia’s attack on Ukraine was after rebels in eastern Ukraine asked the country for military assistance to help fend off Ukrainian “aggression”.

Meanwhile, China has called for restraint on all sides after Russian President, Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, 24 February.

Tracknews reports that the spokeswoman Hua Chunying during a press briefing where she was repeatedly asked if Beijing condemned the actions, blamed the United States and its Western allies in recent weeks for adding fuel to fire, and ‘hyping up’ the crisis.

It would be recalled that Putin launched a major military invasion into the country Ukraine from several directions on Thursday, with explosions heard in the country’s capital, Kyiv.

“China is closely watching the latest situation, and we call on all parties to maintain restraint and prevent the situation from getting out of control,” Hua Chunying said.

She also noted that the military operation should not be described as an invasion.

Beijing has trod a cautious line on Ukraine as Moscow massed thousands of troops on the borders, and criticized the West for new sanctions after Russia ordered troops into two breakaway Ukrainian regions it now recognizes as an independent.