President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, frustrated by the failure of Nato to impose a no-fly zone over the country, once again implored his citizens on Sunday to resist the Russian invasion. Their spirit, he said, will ensure victory.

“Every soldier on the lines of defence. Every doctor who saves lives. Every firefighter who extinguishes fire. Every entrepreneur who continues to work. Dozens and dozens of other professions. Millions of people, which became one whole,” he said in his daily early morning address to the nation.

“Programmers who joined the information troops. Everyone who joined the territorial defence. Teachers and educators who do not leave children. Police officers. Civil servants. We all withstood the blow together,” he said. “We will all rebuild our state together.”

Zelensky also knows he needs outside help, and has had a steady stream of calls with global leaders and others in the past day, according to the Ukrainian President’s official Facebook page.

In his address, Zelensky praised the bravery of all those who resisted occupation — whether with a weapon or just their voice. He particularly pointed to those who took to the streets to protest in the southern city of Kherson, the first major city to fall to Russian forces.

“It is a special heroism to protest when your city is occupied. Even temporarily,” he said. “When you don’t have a weapon and in response you receive gunshots. And you don’t run. When you don’t have armour and an armoured personnel carrier is coming at you. And you do not move aside.”

This courage, he said, is why any attempt to occupy the country is doomed to failure.

(New York Times News Service)