Ukrainians of all ages are doing what they can to defend their country against the Russian invasion, and even members of the country’s Parliament have taken up arms.
“The reality is, our people are fighting with everything they have got,” said Ukrainian Parliament member Sviatoslav Yurash, a Monday guest of “On Balance With Leland Vittert.”
Yurash, who is Ukraine’s youngest member of Parliament at 26 years old, said Ukrainian forces are pushing back Russian troops all over the country, in some cases quite literally.
“You’re seeing people come out onto the streets with bare hands to push out the Russian soldiers,” he said, “We are Ukrainians, we are in Ukraine, we don’t want you here, Russian troops.”
On Sunday, talks of a possible cease-fire collapsed. The two nations were attempting to negotiate a window for people to flee the capital city of Kyiv along with Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy. The two sides blamed each other for the failure of previous cease-fire agreements.
In the latest cease-fire proposal, most of the evacuation routes were toward Russia or Belarus, a move Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk called “unacceptable.”
In response to reports that another cease-fire opportunity may be on the table, Yurash said he does not think the Russians would hold up their end of the bargain.
“We need to be very cautious about anything they say,” Yurash said. “They have been untrustworthy throughout Putin’s presidency.”
In just 12 days, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has already led to Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II. More than 1.5 million refugees have left Ukraine so far, according to the head of the United Nations refugee agency.
Yurash called on western allies to step up the assistance to Ukraine, including weapons.
“We need the West to wake up as soon as possible,” Yurash said.
The Pentagon has sent thousands of weapons, including anti-tank missiles, to Ukraine but has rejected the idea of a no-fly zone over the country for fear that it could escalate tensions with Russia.