The Russian military forces close their siege on Kiev and fighting is already taking place in some neighborhoods of the capital, where there was also a missile attack this Friday morning, according to the Ukrainian authorities, who called for more international sanctions against Moscow and assured “do everything possible” to resist.
The offensive, which began on Thursday, has already left more than 100 dead and some 100,000 displaced, according to official Ukrainian figures, and Russian troops are advancing rapidly. According to the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, civilian areas have become a target and his country feels “alone” before an international community that has not reacted firmly enough.
the ukrainian army It said Russian troops were approaching Kiev from the north and east, and the Defense Ministry said there was fighting in a neighborhood in the north of the city, called Obolon, and called on residents to take up arms.
“We ask citizens to inform us of enemy movements, make Molotov cocktails and neutralize the occupier,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian troops also said they are fighting Russian armored units in two towns, Dymer and Ivankiv, located 45 and 80 kilometers north of Kiev.
Although they have faced resistance in some areas, the Ukrainian forces admit that the Russian troops find a way to continue approaching the capital, where three million inhabitants live but which was deserted on Friday.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskyHe called on Europeans with “combat experience” on Friday to fight for Ukraine in the face of the threat of Russian forces.
“If you have combat experience in Europe and you don’t want to see the indecision of politicians, you can come to our country and join us in defending Europe, where it is most needed now,” Zelensky said in a statement released by his press office. .
“How are you going to defend yourself if you are so slow to help Ukraine?” Zelensky asked European leaders.
“Cancel visas for Russians? Exclusion (from the interbank system) Swift? Total isolation from Russia? Withdrawal of the ambassadors? Oil embargo? Today, everything must be on the table, because it is a threat to all of us, to all of Europe,” he added.
“Europe is strong enough to stop this aggression,” he insisted.
Negotiate “sooner or later”
At dawn, Kiev recorded two strong explosions, as AFP journalists were able to verify. “Horrible Russian missile shots over Kiev,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced on Twitter. According to official sources, there were three wounded in the attack.
“They said that civilians were not targeted, but it is another of their lies (…) Tonight, they began to bomb civilian neighborhoods. This reminds us of (the Nazi offensive of) 1941,” he denounced this Friday. Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on social media.
On Thursday, the Russian army took control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plantstill contaminated by radioactivity from the 1986 nuclear accident.
Zelensky also praised the Ukrainians for their “heroism” and assured that his troops “do everything possible” to defend the country.
“Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. About how we can end the fighting and stop the invasion. The sooner this talk takes place, the less the losses will be, even for Russia,” he said.
Perhaps in response, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrovstated that his country is ready to negotiate if Ukraine “lays down its arms”.
In a conversation with Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked him to “negotiate” with Ukraine.
The Pope Francisco he also intervened and met with the Russian ambassador to the Vatican to express “his concern”.
“Liberate from oppression”
According to Western military sources, Kiev is the main target of the Russian president Vladimir Putin to “decapitate the Ukrainian government” and install a pro-Moscow executive.
Lavrov reiterated that the goal of the Ukraine invasion was to “liberate” Ukrainians “from oppression,” implying that they want to overthrow the current government.
The aim is “to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine so that, freed from this oppression, Ukrainians can freely choose their future,” he said.
Russia accuses Ukraine of committing a “genocide” of the Russian-speaking population in the east of the country, without providing any evidence in this regard.
The threat of a Russian invasion had been present for weeks, as Putin had deployed more than 150,000 troops to the border. But it accelerated on Monday, when he recognized the independence of pro-Russian breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine and Russian lawmakers paved the legal way for a military operation.
Since Putin launched his offensive early Thursday, nearly 100,000 people have fled their homes and thousands have sought refuge abroad, the UN said. The first Ukrainian refugees have already begun to arrive in Hungary, Romania or Poland.
“My life has completely changed in half a day. But it is very good to know that we have a place to go,” explained Iryna, a 42-year-old woman, who spent the night with dozens of compatriots at the Przemysl train station in Poland, near the Ukrainian border.
In eastern Ukraine, heavy fighting filled civilians with fear and anger.
“I will never, under any conditions, surrender to Putin. Better to die,” said Olena Kurilo, a 52-year-old teacher, her face covered with bandages, in Chugnev, a city in eastern Ukraine that was bombed.
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