Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Ukrainians to 'go on the offensive'

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File Pic/AFP

In another video address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the people of the country "to go on the offensive" as Russia has continued its war on Kiev. In the video posted on Facebook late Saturday night, the President said: "Every meter of our Ukrainian land won by protest and humiliation of the invaders is a step forward, a step towards victory for our entire state.

"This is a chance to live. Ukrainians! In all our cities where the enemy entered. Feel it. Go on the offensive." As Russia's offensive against Ukraine entered the 11th day on Sunday, Moscow's forces have continued to to heavily shell many cities. As artillery and air strikes have caused severe damage in the city of Irpin, about 20 km north-west of capital Kiev, evacuations of local residents were underway, the BBC reports.

The aerial attacks led to an almost complete destruction of a residential tower block. On Saturday, Russian forces continued to shell the city of Mariupol, despite agreeing to a ceasefire just hours earlier. Three hours after the ceasefire was supposed to begin, at 9 a.m. (local time), Mariupol authorities announced they had postponed a planned mass evacuation because of the continued bombardment.

Russia later announced that it had resumed its assault on Mariupol "due to the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to influence nationalists or extend the ceasefire". Meanwhile in Kherson, the first major city to fall to Russian forces, some 2,000 people marched through the city centre, waving flags and singing the Ukrainian national anthem. They shouted patriotic slogans including "Russians go home" and "Kherson is Ukraine", said the BBC report.

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