KYIV, Ukraine 

Russian attacks have killed around 14,000 Ukrainians in the last eight years, Ukraine’s president said Thursday.

The attacks did not start on Feb. 24 but have been continuing since 2014, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message.

He argued that Russia had turned Crimea into a large military base and the Black and Azov seas into among the most dangerous areas on the planet.

The world’s silence over what has been going on in Ukraine since 2014 encouraged Russia to launch an attack on the country on Feb. 24, he added.

At least 1,964 civilians have been killed and 2,613 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched the war, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 4.7 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries , with over 7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency.