As the situation continues to unfold in Ukraine and Russian troops advance on the capitalKyiv, Russia President Vladimir Putin called on Ukraine’s armed forces to overthrow their government in remarks to his security council Friday.
“Do not let Banderites [Ukrainian nationalists] and neo-Nazis use your children, wives and old people as human shields,” Putin said in remarks aired on Russian state television.
He went on to urge Ukraine’s armed forces to “take power into your own hands.”
Putin frequently repeats the baseless and inaccurate claim that the democratically elected Ukrainian government is a “Nazi” or “fascist” regime. The language has been roundly condemned internationally, especially considering that President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish.
Asked by CNN at a news conference Friday what Moscow’s plans were for the leadership of Ukraine as Russian forces advance on Kyiv, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov replied, “Nobody is going to attack the people of Ukraine.”
Where things stand: For now, Ukraine’s democratically elected government remains intact but Zelensky warned in a video address late Thursday that “enemy sabotage groups” had entered this city and he is their No. 1 target. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state,” he said.
In an address Friday morning, Zelensky said Ukrainians were “showing their true heroism” but that they were defending their country “alone.” The sanctions imposed on Russia by Western powers are “not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil,” he said.
CNN’s Matthew Chance, Tim Lister and Laura Smith-Spark also contributed reporting to this post.
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