KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops closed in on Kyiv and skirmishes flared on its outskirts Saturday as Ukraine’s leader vowed to continue battling an invasion that had the country’s people seeking safety underground.
The assault on the Ukrainian capital was clouded by a curfew put in place through Monday morning. Even as journalists were forced inside, the relative quiet of the night in Kyiv was sporadically broken by gunfire.
“We will fight for as long as needed to liberate our country,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised, as he continued to press for additional international help.
Fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Small groups of Russian troops were reported inside Kyiv, but Britain and the U.S. said the bulk of Russian forces were 19 miles from the city’s center as of Saturday afternoon.
Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighborhoods 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.
In Kyiv, a missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the southwestern 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.
Zelenskyy reiterated his openness to talks with Russia in a video message Saturday, saying he welcomed an offer from the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan to organize diplomatic efforts, which so far have faltered. That came a day after Zelenskyy offered to negotiate a key Russian demand: abandoning ambitions of joining NATO.
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.
Putin has has not disclosed his ultimate plans for Ukraine, but 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 Defense said “the speed of the Russian advance has temporarily slowed likely as a result of acute logistical difficulties and strong Ukrainian resistance.” We aren’t going to lay down weapons. We will protect the country. Our weapon is our truth, and our truth is that it’s our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that.Ukraine president volodymyr Zelenskyy
A senior U.S. defense official said 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. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. assessments, did not provide further details.
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 patrolled the skies, though it was unclear if they were Russian or Ukrainian.
