Ukraine president says tens of thousands could die as he vows country will defend itself against Russia

Ukraine’s president has warned that tens of thousands of people could die in a conflict with Russia, as he vowed his country would defend itself against any invasion.

As tensions mounted in Europe’s most perilous strategic crisis in decades, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an emotional speech in the early hours of Thursday in which he insisted the people of Ukraine wanted peace.

Yet, he said if Russia were to push ahead with an invasion, his country and his people would defend themselves.

“The Ukrainian people want peace,” said Mr Zelensky, speaking in Kiev. “The government in Ukraine wants peace and is doing everything it can to build it.”

In a speech delivered in Russian and which was partly directed at Russia and its leadership, he added: “But if we are attacked, if someone attempts to take away our land, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves.”

He added: “When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs ... War is a great misfortune and it comes at a great price. People lose their money, reputation, freedom, living standards, and most importantly – they lose their loved ones and themselves.”

“Nothing’s ever enough in a war, but there’s more than enough pain, dirt, and death. Tens of thousands of deaths.”

The speech came as fears grew that Russia was set to invade Ukraine, perhaps as early as Thursday, despite Moscow’s denials that it has any plan to do so.

On Monday, Russia formally recognised two break-away pro-Russian entities that had been de facto under the control of Moscow since the war of 2014. Mr Putin has also vowed to send in “peacekeeping forces”, something that has caused deep consternation in Ukraine.

In an apparent reference to Mr Putin’s move to sanction the deployment of the Russian military to “maintain peace” in eastern Ukraine, Mr Zelensky warned that “this step could mark the start of a big war on the European continent”.

“Any provocation, any spark could trigger a blaze that will destroy everything,” he said.

He challenged the Russian propaganda claims, saying that “you are told that this blaze will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian people are free”.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian legislators approved a decree that imposed a nationwide state of emergency for 30 days starting on Thursday. The measure allowed the authorities to declare curfews and restrictions on movement, block rallies and ban political parties and organisations “in the interests of national security and public order”.

The action reflected increasing concern among Ukrainian authorities after weeks of trying to project calm. The Foreign Ministry advised against travel to Russia and recommended that any Ukrainians who are there leave immediately.

In a speech late on Monday night, Mr Putin told his nation, and the world, he believed Ukraine was an integral part of Russia.

“Ukraine is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space,” Mr Putin said in comments that were heavily criticised.

“These are our comrades, those dearest to us – not only colleagues, friends and people who once served together, but also relatives, people bound by blood, by family ties.”

Mr Putin has long claimed that ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nato and the West has put his country under unfair pressure by the placing of thousands of troops and more than 100 nuclear warheads in Europe.

He has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine should not be permitted to join Nato and has accused the West of backing the 2014 coup that overthrew a democratically elected pro-Russian leader, and replaced him with someone more pro-Western.

A number of analysts believe Mr Putin’s remarks do bear some merit, and many Western nations supported the protests that resulted in the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych, and his replacement with Petro Poroshenko.

The Biden administration has said it cannot make a guarantee to Mr Putin about Ukraine’s future membership of Nato. However, the US president said earlier this year, he did not foresee Ukraine joining Nato any time soon.

Addressing an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Secretary-General António Guterres said: “President Putin, stop your troops from attacking the Ukraine. Give peace a chance.”

Shortly afterwards, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US believed a “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine was imminent”.

“Tonight, we’re seeing the Russians close airspace, move troops into Donbass and move forces into combat ready positions,” she said.

“This is a perilous moment. And we are here for one reason and one reason only, to ask Russia to stop return to your borders. Send your troops and your tanks and your planes back to their barracks and hangers and send your diplomats to the negotiating table.”

Her comments echoed those of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told told NBC he could not predict when Russia would invade Ukraine but warned it could be imminent. He said: “Look, I can’t put a date or an exact time on it but everything is in place for Russia to move forward.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press