Ukrainian ambassador calls for NATO allies to form 'anti-Putin coalition’, urges 'devastating’ sanctions

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President Biden delivers remarks announcing 'further consequences' the US will impose on Russia for its 'unprovoked and unjustified' attack on Ukraine

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. urged its NATO allies along with other "leaders of the free world" to form an "anti-Putin coalition" in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deadly invasion Thursday.

"We are protecting our home, and we will not stop," Oksana Markarova told reporters speaking from Washington, D.C. "The President also speaks to all the leaders and all the leaders of the free world, and we call for everyone to form the anti-Putin coalition to stop Mr. Putin and stop this attack on Ukraine," she added in reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We value all the support. We hear all the support. It's very important for us, but it's also time to act, and we call on [the] international community to act immediately," she added.

RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022. - Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbour. Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east, triggering condemnation from Western leaders and warnings of massive sanctions (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

The ambassador said Kyiv has already severed diplomatic ties with Moscow and echoed similar pleas made by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba who called on its allies to follow suit. 

Following Putin’s order to send "peacekeeping" troops into Eastern Ukraine earlier this week, the U.S. responded with immediate sanctions on not only the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Russian elites, but it froze $80 billion in Kremlin assets.

Germany blocked the certification of the pipeline – barring it from becoming active – and NATO allies, the European Union Australia and Japan levied their own sanctions against the Kremlin.

The U.S. further promised more extreme sanctions if Russia escalated its aggression against Ukraine and President Biden is expected to announce additional penalties Thursday. 

Markarova called on the U.S. and NATO to immediately implement these additional "devastating" sanctions so that "Russia will clearly feel that they cannot wage war with an independent sovereign country."

"The future of the world order depends on this," she added.

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The map shows where Russia attacks been reported in Ukraine

Ukraine has called for a litany of steps to be taken as Russian troops advance and the death toll continues to rise, including Russia's removal from the SWIFT international banking system, the sanctioning of "all financial institutions," humanitarian assistance and continued defensive support.

The ambassador said these steps were not only important to help defend Ukraine, but to deter Putin from "attacking anyone else in the free world."

Markarova told reporters that "heavy fighting" was still ongoing in various parts of the country, ballistic missiles had been fired from Belarus and the Ukrainian National Guard was actively warding off Russian attempts "to steal the Chernobyl nuclear power station."

The U.S. and NATO allies have said they will not actively engage in battle with Russia in Ukraine as it is not a NATO member, but have warned a full response if Putin hits a NATO nation. 

Flame and smoke rise from the debris of a privet house in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia on Thursday unleashed a barrage of air and missile strikes on Ukrainian facilities across the country. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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"We do not expect anyone to fight for us," the ambassador said. "But we expect all the help and all the response the West can send to us.

"We intend to protect our country. We intend to continue fighting, and we intend to protect all the branches of power that we need to be operational in order to effectively defend our country," she said.

Markarova said Zelenskyy remains in Ukraine but would not confirm where he is currently located.