ISTANBUL 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday called on foreign ministers of NATO allies not to allow Russia to turn Ukraine into Syria, where a civil war is continuing since 2011. 

“Took part in the extraordinary meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. My message: act now before it’s too late. Don’t let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin turn Ukraine into Syria. We are ready to fight. We will continue fighting. But we need partners to help us with concrete, resolute and swift actions, now,” Kuleba said on Twitter.

He also shared in his tweet a video message, in which he said: “We, together for the sake of the security in Europe, for the sake of prosperity in Europe. Russia tries to turn Ukraine into Syria and the tactics they deploy are very similar to the one they excelled in Syria. But we should not allow them to create Syria in Europe.

“We are ready to fight. We will continue fighting. But help us. If you don’t, I’m afraid you will have to share responsibility for the lives and the suffering of Ukrainian civilians, who die because of ruthless Russian pilots throwing bombs on them."

Russia's war on Ukraine has led to international outrage, with the EU, US, UK, and others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow. The West is also supplying Kyiv with weapons and humanitarian aid.

But Putin says the "special military operation" will last until all goals set were achieved. He started the war on Feb. 24 to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

According to the UN Human Rights office, at least 331 civilians have been killed and 675 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war.

More than 1.2 million people have also fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said.