New Delhi: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged Russian soldiers to lay down their weapons and troop withdrawal as Moscow's military offensive against Kyiv entered its fifth day.
He claimed that more than 4,500 Russian soldiers had already lost their lives.
"Abandon your equipment. Get out of here. Don’t believe your commanders. Don’t believe your propagandists. Just save your lives," AFP quoted Volodymyr Zelensky as saying in an address.
Zelensky also urged the European Union to give Ukraine "immediate" membership via a special procedure.
"We appeal to the European Union for the immediate accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure," the 44-year-old leader said.
"Our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal. I'm sure that's fair. I am sure we deserve it," he said as quoted by news agency AFP.
As per the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, at least 102 citizens, including seven children, had been killed in Ukraine since Russia sent off its intrusion five days ago.
"Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and airstrikes," Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva as reported by AFP, warning that "the real figures are, I fear, considerably higher."
A Ukrainian delegation including Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has arrived at the border with Belarus for talks on Monday with Russian agents that will focus on accomplishing a prompt truce and the withdrawal of Russian powers, the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement.