New Delhi: A picture of an 80-year-old man who showed up to join the Ukrainian army to fight against the Russian offensive is going viral on the Internet. In the heartbreaking photo, the octogenarian is seen standing with personnel of the Ukrainian forces holding a small briefcase.
Kateryna Mykhaylivna Yushchenko, the First Lady of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010, shared the picture on Friday (February 25) and said that he was doing it for his grandkids.
"Someone posted a photo of this 80-year-old who showed up to join the army, carrying with him a small case with 2 t-shirts, a pair of extra pants, a toothbrush and a few sandwiches for lunch. He said he was doing it for his grandkids," she wrote on Twitter.
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It was not clear where the picture was taken, but it has so far got more than 2.48 lakh likes on the micro-blogging site and has been shared by over 39,000 users.
Someone posted a photo of this 80-year-old who showed up to join the army, carrying with him a small case with 2 t-shirts, a pair of extra pants, a toothbrush and a few sandwiches for lunch. He said he was doing it for his grandkids. pic.twitter.com/bemD24h6Ae
— Kateryna Yushchenko (@KatyaYushchenko) February 24, 2022
It is noteworthy that Kyiv residents have been told by the Ukrainian defence ministry to make petrol bombs to repel the invaders, and on Friday evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city. The sound of frequent artillery fire, apparently some distance from the city centre, continued in the early hours of Saturday.
Ukrainian President films himself on streets of Kyiv, vows to defend independence
Earlier on Friday, a video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy filming himself with aides on the streets of the capital and vowing to defend Ukraine's independence was going viral.
"Tonight they will mount an assault. We all understand what awaits us - we must endure this night," Reuters quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
"The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now," he added.
Deep respect to President @ZelenskyyUa and the brave people of #Ukraine
The spirit of a free and democratic #Ukraine is strong. pic.twitter.com/vOIZA3FoYE
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) February 25, 2022
After weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a three-pronged invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south on Thursday, in an attack that threatened to upend Europe's post-Cold War order.
Putin has cited the need to "denazify" Ukraine`s leadership as one of his main reasons for invasion, accusing it of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has said that more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far. Russia, however, did not release casualty figures.
(With agency inputs)
