'I Am Not Afraid,' Zelensky Says As Ex-President Yanukovich Urges Ukraine To 'Stop Bloodshed'

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with more shelling, the latter's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, told his country he was not afraid. His comments came as former president Viktor Yanukovych urged Zelensky to "stop bloodshed."

Zelensky gave out details of the location from where he has been working during an eight-minute video Monday. The president said he was staying in Kyiv and working with his team to defend his country.

"On Bankova Street. I am not hiding. And I am not afraid of anyone. As much as it takes to win this Patriotic War of ours," he wrote in the caption along with the video.

"We are all on the ground. We are all working. Everyone is where they should be. I am in Kyiv. My team is with me. The territorial defense is on the ground. The servicemen are in positions. Doctors, rescuers, transporters, diplomats, journalists... everyone. We are all at war. We all contribute to our victory, which will definitely be achieved," he said in the video.

Zelensky's video, which was posted on Instagram, came amid rumors that he had fled to Poland with his family.

Meanwhile, Yanukovych – who was in exile in Russia – appealed to Zelensky to "stop the bloodshed at any cost and reach a peace agreement." Yanukovych's comments were in a letter published by Russian state media on the 13th day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Yanukovych was found guilty of treason in absentia for requesting Russian military assistance during the pro-Western Euromaidan protests that ousted him from office in the year 2014.

Russia's full-blown attack on Ukraine was launched on Feb. 24, with forces entering the main locations of the country. The Ukraine crisis intensified Tuesday as Russian forces continued their shelling, leading to scarcity of food, water and medicine. Both the sides held the third round of negotiations, which have been mostly unfruitful, Monday.

More than 1.7 million Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion have so far crossed into Central Europe, the United Nations' refugee agency said Monday.

"While Russians are to blame for the killings, responsibility is shared by those who for 13 days in their Western offices haven’t been able to approve an obviously necessary decision, who didn’t save our cities from these bombs and missiles – although they can," Ukrainian media outlet The Kyiv Independent quoted Zelensky as saying.

Last week, there were reports that Zelensky has survived at least three assassination attempts since Russia invaded his country.