'Save your lives and leave,' Zelensky tells Russian troops, demands 'immediate' EU membership

Zelensky, during his address, announced that Ukraine will release prisoners with combat experience if they are willing to join Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He also appealed to the Russian troops to lay down arms, asking them to "save your lives and leave."

New Delhi: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address on Monday demanded that Ukraine be granted membership of the European Union under new special procedures. Zelensky said that the country was grateful to its partners but their goal was 'to be equal.'

In a tweet on Monday, Zelensky revealed that he had talked about "concrete decisions on strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities, macro-financial assistance and Ukraine's membership in the EU," with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission.

Zelensky, during his address, announced that Ukraine will release prisoners with combat experience if they are willing to join Ukraine in its fight against Russia. It was a difficult moral choice but necessary for the country's defence, Zelensky was quoted as saying by The Kyiv Independent. He also appealed to the Russian troops to lay down arms, asking them to "save your lives and leave."

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and MP David Arakhamia, leader of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, arrived on the Belarus border for peace talks with Russia. Zelenskyy's office said it would demand an immediate cease-fire.

Earlier today, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, also took to Twitter to reveal that "NATO Allies are stepping up support with air-defence missiles, anti-tank weapons, as well as humanitarian & financial aid." Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier ordered Russian nuclear forces to high alert, citing “aggressive statements” by NATO.

The EU and numerous western allies including the USA, Canada have imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday announced that the EU has closed its airspace to all Russian-owned, Russian-registered, or Russian-controlled aircrafts, “Including the private jets of oligarchs.”

The war, which has entered its fifth day, has already claimed the lives of at least 102 civilians, including 7 children, while 304 others have been injured, United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday. Filippo Grandi of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees conveyed in a tweet that, more than 500,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.