Kiev.- Several thousand Ukrainians gathered in Kiev on Saturday to show their unity against the possibility of a Russian invasion, while the Ukrainian leader asked the population not to panic and opposed what, according to him, it was an avalanche of grim predictions of war.
The tension has increased as Russia has concentrated more than 100,000 soldiers near Ukraine and has conducted large-scale exercises. The United States said on Friday that an invasion could start at any time.
Russia denies planning an invasion.
The march went through the center of Kiev in a column, chanting “Glory to Ukraine” and carrying Ukrainian flags and banners reading “Ukrainians will resist” and “Invaders must die”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended police drills in the southern Kherson region, said a Russian attack could happen at any momentbut objected to what he called information overload about a major war in the making.
“Our enemies’ best friend is panic in our country. And all this information is only causing panic and cannot help us,” he said. “I can neither agree nor disagree with what has not happened yet. So far, there is no large-scale war in Ukraine.”
The United States and numerous Western governments have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, and Washington said on Saturday it was ordering the departure of most of its embassy staff in Kiev.
“We have to be ready every day. This didn’t start yesterday. It started in 2014, so we are ready and that’s why we are here,” Zelenskiy said, referring to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for an anti-Kiev separatist insurgency. in the East.
