Zelensky compares Russian invasion to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor attack; Putin says invasion on course

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared the ongoing invasion by Russia to 9/11 and the Pearl Harbor attack, which forced the United States to get involved in World War II. Meanwhile, Kremlin said the war in Ukraine was "going to plan" amid talk of compromise at peace talks.

During an emotional and impassioned video address to the US Congress, Zelensky said, "In your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand Ukrainians, understand us now when we need you right now."

"Remember Pearl Harbor. The terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you," Zelensky said, adding that the attacks on September 11, 2001 "turned your cities, independent territories into battlefields."

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The Ukrainian President said that his country is seeing such horrors every day. "Our country experiences the same every day. Right now, every day, every night for three weeks now ... Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death of thousands of people," he said.

Zelensky pleaded with allies to impose a no-fly zone and also showed the extent of devastation in Ukraine. wrought. He received a standing ovation from US lawmakers.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (March 16) said he would discuss neutral status for Ukraine and that what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarize the country was "going to plan".

Kyiv and allies say his actions are an unprovoked incursion, and more than three million Ukrainians have fled and hundreds have died.

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(With inputs from agencies)