KYIV – Russian forces are approaching Kyiv from the north and northeast, Ukraine’s army said today, with rising fears the capital could fall on the second day of Moscow’s offensive.
The soldiers are trying to “bypass” the northern city of Chernigiv – where they were “rebuffed” – to attack Kyiv, the Ukrainian army said on Facebook.
They were also advancing on Kyiv from the eastern city of Konotop, which is under Russian control, Kyiv’s army said.
The Ukrainian army earlier said Russian ground forces had been pushing down the west bank of the Dnieper River from Belarus.
It said Russian soldiers were “increasingly choosing to target civilian infrastructure and residential buildings”, echoing President Volodymyr Zelensky.
An AFP reporter heard explosions and gunfire erupting in the northern part of Kyiv today, with people running for safety in the city’s Obolonsky area.
Moscow’s forces arrived on the outskirts of Kyiv yesterday when helicopter-borne troops attacked an airfield just outside the city, near Obolonsky.
The Ukrainian army said today it was fighting Russian forces north of the capital in the villages of Dymer – around 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Kyiv – and Ivankiv, about 60 kilometres northwest of the city.
The military claimed to have stopped advancing forces at the Teteriv River outside Kyiv, adding that it had repulsed an attack on the Gostomel airbase.
As Moscow forces arrived in Obolonsky, within the city, the defence ministry urged civilians to resist.
“We urge citizens to inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralise the enemy,” it said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was launching a major military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of yesterday.
Western countries have imposed a barrage of international sanctions against Russia since then. – AFP, February 25, 2022
