Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his nation tonight, and the people of Russian saying his nation wants peace. It was a dramatic and emotional appeal. The New York Times writes:
“The Ukrainian people want peace,” President Zelensky said after midnight on Thursday morning in Kyiv. “The government in Ukraine wants peace and is doing everything it can to build it.”
While acknowledging that Russians, whose news diet is tightly controlled, were unlikely to hear his words, Mr. Zelensky insisted that Ukraine had no grievance with Russia and meant no harm to Russians, disputing the picture of his country painted by the Russian government and news media.
Zelensky also said he made an attempt to communicate with Vladimir Putin. The Russian president would not take the call.
“Today I initiated a phone conversation with the president of the Russian Federation. The result was silence.“
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine