Ukraine rebukes NATO over refusal to announce Ukraine as no-fly zone

"Today there was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe's freedom to be the number one goal," Zelenskiy alleged in a televised address late on Friday, Reuters reported.

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

In 2014, the regions declared themselves new republics, refusing to recognize Ukraine’s Western-backed government.

More than 14,000 people have been killed so far across the regions as a result of the conflict that ensued between the Ukrainian military and the rebels.

Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”

Adding to his remarks, the Ukrainian president claimed that by refusing to establish the no-fly zone, "today, the leadership of the alliance (NATO) gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages."

“All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your wekness. Because of your disunity,” he alleged.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, however, Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia rejected allegations that Moscow was targeting civilians in Ukraine.

Nebenzia also said Ukrainian forces were using civilians as human shields and deploying heavy weapons in residential areas.