- Volodymyr Zelensky said tonight in Ukraine "will be harder than the day" as Russian forces continue their assault.
- Zelensky said Ukrainians cannot afford to lose their capitol of Kyiv to the invaders.
- Earlier in the day, Zelensky called for Vladimir Putin "to sit down at the negotiating table."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday night that the future of his country "is being decided right now," a dire forecast that comes amid reports that Russian troops are approaching Kyiv from multiple directions.
"Tonight the enemy will use all the resources they have to break our resistance in a mean, cruel, and inhuman way," Zelensky said in a message to his nation, according to a translation of his remarks. "Tonight they will assault us."
He added that many Ukrainian cities remain under attack and once again called on his fellow citizens to use whatever means necessary to repel Russian forces. Earlier in the day, a video reportedly showed Ukrainian men helping themselves to guns a day after citizens were urged to take up arms.
"Burn down the enemy's military vehicles, using anything—anything—you can. If even the kindergartens are an admissible target for the invaders, you must not leave them any chance," he said.
The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry claimed earlier that "Russian armored forces are progressing toward Kyiv from multiple directions in an attempt to encircle the city." Insider could not immediately verify these claims.
Zelensky thanked President Joe Biden as he ticked through the list of Western leaders that he's spoken with in the past 24 hours. A former comedian, Zelensky has elected to remain in Kyiv for now even though he previously said Russia wants to kill him and his family.
Zelensky previously called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "sit down at the negotiating table." The New York Times reported that Ukrainian officials asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate talks between Ukraine and Russia. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told reporters on Friday that Putin was ready to send officials to Minsk, Belarus, a country from which Putin has invaded Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba compared the previous night's strikes to WWII, saying his country has not faced a moment like this since the Nazis attacked.
"Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany," he tweeted. "Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe all ties. Kick Russia out."
The West has responded by further ramping up sanctions. NATO, which Ukraine is not a member of, also made the historic decision to activate the alliance's response force. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said will send troops to bolster eastern flank members. The exact numbers and troop destinations are unclear, but it's a sign of just how serious NATO is taking the situation given that the response force has never been activated before.
Both the EU and the US have now pledged to sanction Putin personally, a rare step in the realm of foreign diplomacy. The White House's decision to target Putin directly puts him on a shortlist with the likes of Kim Jong Un, Bashar al-Assad, and Robert Mugabe.