Kiev's Mayor Vitali Klitschko has urgently requested further arms supplies from Ukraine's allies to stave off intensified Russian attacks on the country.
"This is a war of resources, and that's why we need support from our partners," said Klitschko on Thursday evening on a programme by German public broadcaster ZDF. Ukraine urgently needs more air defence systems, he said.
"We don't have enough," Klitschko said. There are attacks every day and the Russians are ruining the infrastructure. "This is not war, this is terrorism."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has started to burn the country so that people can no longer live there because life is impossible without electricity and water, Klitschko said.
Ukraine, Klitschko stressed, is also fighting for its allies.
"We are defending each and every one of you," the mayor said. In Kiev alone, where more air defence systems are deployed than anywhere else in the country, more than 800 buildings have been destroyed and more than 200 civilians have been killed, he said.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had also urged further Western weapons to fend off Russian airstrikes.
In the past few days, Russian missile attacks have destroyed several thermal power stations and once again damaged numerous facilities and power lines in Ukraine.
The eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv near the Russian border is currently seeing particularly heavy Russian bombardment.
Klitschko said he does not currently see any chance of negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian aggressor. He said that Russia was trying to force his country to come to the table and make compromises "through its muscle-flexing."
Diplomatic solutions are currently not possible, Klitschko said. At the moment, the only option is to remain on the front line and stay politically strong, according to the mayor.
All that was currently left to do for Ukrainians was to defend their country, before talks could happen. "We don't see any compromises."
