The armed forces of Ukraine, intelligence and everyone who defends the state are resisting an extremely tough offensive by Russian troops in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Wednesday evening.

"In some areas, the enemy is substantially superior in terms of equipment, number of soldiers. The Russian authorities have made an illustrative decision - they have allowed to hire older people for contract service. That is, they no longer have enough young people, but the desire to fight still remains," he said.

According to Zelensky, "it still takes time to discourage them from this. We still need the help of partners, especially weapons for Ukraine. Total help! No exceptions, no restrictions. "

"And I am grateful to everyone who spoke about it, including in Davos. Who talks about it in the media and in the capitals of leading countries. Despite pressure from all those stuck in the XX century, when the interests of nations were indeed often traded for attempts to appease the appetites of dictators," he said.