China backs Russia invasion, with 137 confirmed dead in Ukraine, as ex-president says Putin ‘simply mad’

President of embattled Ukraine, Mr Volodymyr Zelensky, Friday, lamented that his country has been ‘left alone’ to defend itself, as Moscow again launched a full-scale military offensive that left over 137 Ukrainians, including civilians, dead.

“They are killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets,” said the president. “It’s foul and will never be forgiven.”

Elsewhere in the capital, soldiers established defensive positions at bridges, and armoured vehicles rolled down the streets, while many residents stood uneasily in doorways of their apartment buildings.

Meanwhile, former Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko has vowed that Russia will never capture Ukraine.

The ex-President, who was armed and surrounded by defence forces — spoke with CNN on Friday from the streets of Kyiv.

According to him, the people of Ukraine are ready to defend their country.

“Everybody should understand, [Russian President] Putin declared war, not for Ukraine. Putin declared a war on the whole world,” he said.

He called the Russian president “simply mad.”

“He’s just simply crazy,” he said, adding that it is just simply evil for the Russian leader to “come here to kill Ukrainian[s].”

While also thanking the United States and United Kingdom for providing Ukraine with defence weapons, the ex-President vowed tha;t “No matter how many soldiers he kills, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has, we Ukrainian[s] are free people with a great European future.”

He called for more help from world powers, saying that his country needs assistance, which could come in form of sanctioning Russia, kicking them out of SWIFT, and blocking their planes and ships in European and NATO ports.

He further confirmed that the battalion is about two to three kilometres (about 1.5 miles) from the fighting between Russia and his country’s soldiers.

In a related development, Cghina has finally thrown its weight behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his “support” for Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday as Russian troops bombard Ukraine.

According to a readout of a call held between the two allies, Xi expressed the importance of rejecting a “Cold War mentality” and said he takes “seriously and respect[s] the reasonable security concerns of all countries.”

Putin has attempted to justify his deadly invasion of Ukraine by falsely suggesting Kyiv posed a serious military threat – a threat he has since claimed NATO also poses, despite the alliance’s repeated attempts to find a diplomatic solution.

The information provided by the Chinese foreign ministry said Putin explained the “historical context of the Ukrainian issue” and claimed, “the United States and NATO have long turned a blind eye to Russia’s legitimate security concerns.”

In the lead-up to Russia’s invasion, NATO flatly rejected Putin’s repeated demands that Ukraine be barred from joining the 30-member alliance.

Ukraine has not been permitted to join the alliance on the grounds that it needs unanimous consent from the member nations and partners like the U.S. have questioned whether Kyiv meets the required standards.

Following a September meeting with Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “There are steps that Ukraine needs to take.”

“They’re very familiar with these: efforts to advance rule of law reforms, modernize its defense sector and expand economic growth,” she added.

In an address to Ukrainians Thursday night, Zelenskyy said he called 27 NATO nations and asked them to allow Kyiv to join the alliance, which would give it the protection and military arms of the 30 nations.

“Everyone is afraid, no one answers,” he said.

China has remained tight-lipped in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, merely repeating talking points and claiming it respects “all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“China supports Russia in resolving the issue through negotiation with Ukraine,” the readout Friday said, backing Putin’s most recent claim that he’s ready to negotiate with Kyiv.

Putin’s comments come one day after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv had abandoned diplomatic talks with Moscow and urged its Western allies to do the same.