Ukraine’s Government has declared a national state of emergency on Wednesday aimed at helping to forge a response to the threat of a Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s Security and Defence Council Secretary, Oleksiy Danilov made this while addressing Ukraine parliament on Wednesday.
Danilov said the measure was overwhelmingly approved on the same day that Moscow launched a military attack on Ukraine, adding that the state of emergency will take effect on Thursday and stay in place for 30 days.
“The situation is difficult but remains completely under our control,”
“Intelligence from all our foreign partners — as well as our own intelligence and analysts — show that it would be impossible to take over our country without first destabilising the domestic situation,” Danilov said.
Danilov added that the measure applies to all parts of Ukraine except for two Russian-backed eastern separatist regions where a deadly insurgency has killed more than 14,000 people since 2014.
Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko told reporters that “mass events and strikes” would be banned across the country under the new rules.
He said specific measures for Kyiv include checkpoints at the main entrances into the capital as well as “special controls” at train stations and airports.
“We must be ready to defend our homes, families, city and country at any moment,” Klitschko said.