TEHRAN — In a live televised speech on Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran supports stopping the war in Ukraine as a victim, blaming the United States’ wrong policies for the root cause of the crisis in Ukraine.

“We oppose war anywhere in the world. We oppose the killing of people and the destruction of people's infrastructure. We are not like the people of the West who, when a bomb is dropped on a wedding ceremony in Afghanistan, consider it a counter-terrorism operation, but we oppose war all over the world. In Ukraine we agree to stop the war. The root of the crisis in Ukraine is American policy. The United States brought Ukraine to this point,” he underscored.

The Leader went on to say it is a fantasy that the West backs despots around the world.

“The support of Western powers for dictatorships is a mirage and not a reality. Let all dependent governments know this, the Ukrainian president and fugitive Afghan president said we trusted the U.S. and Western governments but they left us alone.”

Noting that public support as the backbone of power structure in a ruling system, the Leader suggested Ukraine would not have faced such a situation if it had enjoyed support among its people.

“People are the most important support for governments, and this would not have happened if people had entered the field in Ukraine,” Ayatollah Khamenei remarked.

On February 21, Russia recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics. Three days later it launched attacks on Ukraine from land, sea and air. 

The Russian government has said its move against Ukraine is intended to prevent the former Soviet Republic from joining NATO.

The presidents of Estonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia published an open letter on Monday urging the European Union (EU) to immediately grant Ukraine candidate country status and begin negotiations on its formal acceptance into the bloc, CNN reported. 

"We call on the EU Member States to consolidate highest political support to Ukraine and enable the EU institutions to conduct steps to immediately grant Ukraine a EU candidate country status and open the process of negotiations." the letter read.
"In this critical moment, we reiterate our full solidarity with Ukraine and its People."

On Monday, following a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the bloc to grant his country immediate EU membership, as it fights off Russia's invasion. 

Dramatic satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Monday evening showed a massive 40+ mile long convoy of Russian military vehicles snaking along roadways northwest of Kyiv.