Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress, writes Reuters.

“It is very important to know that if Ukraine falls, then all these (Russian) troops will be on the borders of your NATO member countries .... and you will be facing the same question there.

We have a war every day, we need help every day. There is not a lot of time for discussion”, - said the President.

Asked how long his country would hold out, Zelenskiy said: “We do not hold out, we fight, and our nation will fight to the end. This is our home, we are protecting out land, our homes. For the sake of our children’s future.

We have something to defend, we are defending our right to live. And what are they (Russians) doing here? They don’t understand our people, our state, our philosophy... They don’t know anything here, they were sent here to kill and to die. Therefore we are stronger on our own land, and we will be stronger”.