On 9 March, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the Russian soldiers to leave Ukraine to save their lives during a video address.
"Russian soldiers! You have a chance to survive. Almost two weeks of our resistance have shown you that we will not give up because this is our home. You can still save your lives if you just leave. Do not believe your commanders when they tell you that there is still a chance for you in Ukraine. Nothing is waiting for you here, except captivity, except death. As you are taking our lives, you will give yours," the president stressed.
He noted that "we will fight until we get our land back and revenge for all our killed people, the killed children."
"The scale of our repulse is maximum. The occupiers have only the maximum equipment. We also have our people in addition to the equipment. Enemy's tanks, armoured vehicles, ammunition will now work for our defence, for our lives, for our country. What could be more humiliating for the occupiers than the fact that we will beat them with their weapon in addition to ours," Zelenskyy added.
The president said, "We need to end this war. We need to return to peace. Get out of our homes, go home."
Zelenskyy announced preparations for the next round of negotiations after the Ukrainian delegation returned from the negotiations in Belarus.
Captive Russian occupiers called on other military invaders to lay down their arms. At a briefing in Interfax-Ukraine, they said they had not expected a war against civilians.