Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that weapons from ‘partners’ are on the way as the country finds itself fighting a ruthless invasion by neighbouring Russia. 

Tagging French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky wrote on Twitter, “A new day on the diplomatic frontline began with a conversation with @EmmanuelMacron. Weapons and equipment from our partners are on the way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is working!”

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Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, after months of military build-up at the border and heightening suspicion of war by the West. Moscow’s aggression is considerably the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II.

Russian forces on Friday closed in on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country. More than 130 Ukrainian soldiers were killed on the first day of fighting.

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After reports started doing the rounds that the Ukrainian president had fled, Zelensky released a video from central Kyiv on Friday where he is heard saying, “We’re all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We’re all defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way.”

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have called on citizens to join the war. “All those who are ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defence forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We simplified procedures. Only your ID is needed. We give weapons to all patriots!” Many Ukrainians have reportedly been training for this moment for months. “We will never surrender…We are using every opportunity to train. So I think Putin should be afraid of us,” Denys Semyroh-Orlyk told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.   

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Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, a key figure in facilitating (now broken down) negotiations between Russia and the West, announced on Friday that France is accelerating its deployment of troops in Romania to strengthen NATO’s position in the eastern flank as the Russian force invaded Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine

Macron said that the ongoing tension is a “turning point in the history of Europe and our country” that would have “deep and lasting consequences for our lives”.