KYIV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday declared Feb. 16 as “the Day of Unity.”


“We declare it to be the Day of Unity. The necessary decision has been signed,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message posted on social media.

This came as reports in the US media claimed President Joe Biden told the leaders of the Western allies that Russia could attack Ukraine on Feb.16.

“On that day, we will hang our national flags, wear our yellow-blue ribbons and show our unity to the whole world,” Zelensky said.


Tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the West escalated over the weekend after Western media reports claimed that Moscow could launch an attack on Ukraine on Wednesday.


Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.


Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security through NATO’s expansion towards its borders.


The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia would not join NATO.