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Russia widens attack, Kyiv digs in
Russia ordered its troops to advance in Ukraine “from all directions” as the Ukrainian capital Kyiv imposed a blanket curfew and officials reported 198 civilian deaths.
Kyiv residents braced on Saturday for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. Ukraine’s leader, meanwhile, claimed the country’s forces had repulsed the Russian assault and vowed to keep up the struggle as he appealed for more outside help.
Russia ordered its troops to advance in Ukraine “from all directions” as the Ukrainian capital Kyiv imposed a blanket curfew and officials reported 198 civilian deaths. Moscow said it had fired cruise missiles at military targets and would “develop the offensive from all directions” after accusing Ukraine of having “rejected” talks.
“The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message in which he accused Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets.
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“We will win,” he said.
Kyiv residents took shelter to the sound of explosions as Ukraine’s army said it had held back an assault on the capital but was fighting Russian “sabotage groups” which had infiltrated the city.
Central Kyiv appeared quiet on Saturday, though sporadic gunfire could be heard. And fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Britain and the US said the bulk of Russian forces were 30km from the centre of the city.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko extended an overnight curfew to run from 5pm until 8am. He said “all civilians on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups.”
Wearing olive green military-style clothing and looking tired but determined, Zelenskiy spoke in a video message posted on his Twitter account. “I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,” he said.
“Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this.”
Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighbourhoods have been hit since the invasion began Thursday with air and missile strikes and Russian troops entering Ukraine from the north, east and south.
Ukraine’s health minister reported Saturday that 198 people, including three children, had been killed and more than 1,000 others had been wounded during Europe’s largest land war since World War II. It was unclear whether those figures included both military and civilian casualties.
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In Kyiv, a missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the south-western outskirts near one of the city’s two passenger airports, leaving a jagged hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured.
The conflict has driven thousands of Ukrainians from their homes in search of safety. UN officials said more than 120,000 Ukrainians had left the country for Poland, Moldova and other neighbouring nations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine after he spent weeks denying that’s what he intended, all the while building up a force of almost 200,000 troops along the countries’ borders. He claims the West has failed to take seriously Russia’s security concerns about NATO, the Western military alliance that Ukraine aspires to join. But he has also expressed scorn about Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state.
It was the third day since Putin unleashed the full-scale invasion that has killed dozens of people, forced thousands to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a wider conflict in Europe.
Putin has not disclosed his ultimate plans for Ukraine or said how long the Russian military operation could last. Western officials believe he is determined to overthrow Ukraine’s government and replace it with a regime of his own, redrawing the map of Europe and reviving Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.
It was unclear in the fog of war how much territory Russian forces have seized. Britain’s ministry of defence said “the speed of the Russian advance has temporarily slowed likely as a result of acute logistical difficulties and strong Ukrainian resistance”.
A senior US defense official said on Saturday that more than half of the Russian combat power that was massed along Ukraine’s borders had entered Ukraine, and that Russia has had to commit more fuel supply and other support units inside Ukraine than originally anticipated.
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said a Russian missile was shot down before dawn Saturday as it headed for the dam of the sprawling water reservoir that serves Kyiv, and Ukraine said a Russian military convoy was destroyed near the city early Saturday. Footage showed soldiers inspecting burned-out vehicles after Ukraine’s 101st brigade reported destroying a column of two light vehicles, two trucks and a tank. The claim could not be verified.
Highways into Kyiv from the east were dotted with checkpoints manned by uniformed Ukrainian troops and young men in civilian clothes carrying automatic rifles. Low-flying planes that appeared to be Su-25 fighter jets patrolled the skies, though it was unclear if they were Russian or Ukrainian.
Zelenskiy urged Germany and Hungary to back severing Russia from the SWIFT banking system to punish Moscow for invading his country.
“There is already almost full support from the EU countries to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. I hope that Germany and Hungary will have the courage to support this decision,” Zelenskyy said in a video address posted online.
