Zelensky aide warns Russia-Ukraine war 'could be a prologue to a greater European or even global massacre' in op-ed written from bunker alongside Ukrainian president

• An aide to the Ukrainian president warned in an op-ed that the Russia-Ukraine war may be a "prologue" to a "global massacre."
• "We will fight to the last breath to protect our country," Andriy Yermak wrote in the New York Times column.

An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an op-ed written from a bunker alongside the leader that Russia's war with Ukraine "could be a prologue to a greater European or even global massacre."

"We will fight to the last breath to protect our country," Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, vowed in the New York Times column published Wednesday, which he said was penned inside a bunker from the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv with Zelensky "by my side."

"For a week, Russian bombs have fallen overhead. Despite the constant barrage of Russian fire, we stand firm and united in our resolve to defeat the invaders," Yermak wrote. "Every day brings the possibility that our words may be our final ones. So let them be a plea for support for a free Ukraine."

In the op-ed, Yermak called on the West to provide Ukraine with more military supplies and equipment and impose even harsher sanctions on Russia to help Ukraine stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's attack on the country.

"Ukraine is not asking for its allies to put boots on the ground. But we need the West to back us up in order to keep defending our families and our land," Yermak said. "We need to show Russia — in painful terms — the mistake it has made."

The United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union have already imposed a slew of severe sanctions against Russia since it attacked Ukraine a week ago, but Yermak said it is not enough.

"We are thankful to our American and European friends, to democracies worldwide including Australia and Japan, for their quick decisions to help us, for their sanctions against the Russian economy, for the armaments and equipment to deter the aggressor," he wrote.

"But it's not enough," he said. "We need more — and, please, stop telling us military aid is on the way. Nothing less than our freedom — and yours — is at stake."

Yermak also urged the West to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a move the Biden administration has already ruled out.

"We recognize that this would be a serious escalation in the war and that it could bring NATO into direct conflict with Russia," Yermak wrote. "But we firmly believe that Russia won't stop at just Ukraine, which would potentially drag NATO into this conflict anyway."

Yermak also called for a "full embargo on Russian oil and all Russian exports to the United States and Europe," sanctions on all Russian oligarchs, and every Russian bank to be cut off from the SWIFT banking system.

"These measures would not be without cost to the world economy, but the alternative is far worse," Yermak wrote.

"Again, make no mistake: Mr. Putin aims to advance this ideology by going for blood beyond Ukraine. He must be stopped," Yermak added. "The Kremlin wants to create a new Russian empire."