Ukrainian troops have officially entered Kyiv turning the capital city into a warzone as they try to fight off Russian forces. Ordinary civilians have been spotted preparing to join in the battle, with thousands of firearms distributed in the streets.
The Ministry of Defense said 18,000 assault rifles had been distributed in Kyiv, along with the necessary ammunition. Footage widely circulated in local news reports and on Ukrainian Telegram channels showed large crowds of men collecting firearms from trucks in the Obolon district of the city, which was under attack by Russian forces.
Residents were urged by authorities to “stay away from the windows” and remain indoors as full-on fighting was said to be underway.
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Firefights were reported in the streets after several explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital before dawn and Russian troops encircled the city, setting up what is expected to be a brutal fight.
A Ukrainian military medic examines the body of a Russian serviceman wearing a Ukranian service uniform lying beside a vehicle after he and members from a raiding party were shot during a skirmish in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Feb. 25
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via GettyUkraine’s parliament issued a desperate appeal to residents, asking them not to post videos to social media that would “help the enemy get information about our soldiers.”
“Immediately stop publishing video in free access and stop the online-streaming!” the Verkhovnaya Rada said in its official Telegram channel.
The Ministry of Defense called on citizens to make Molotov cocktails to hurl at invaders breaching the city’s northern suburb of Obolon.
Ukrainian officials had said they expected tanks and columns of Russian troops to try to enter the city on Friday, following advance units of “saboteurs” already inside Kyiv.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky shared his dismay at the lack of help from the U.S..
“This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance,” he said.
Live feeds from the city showed explosions lighting up the night sky just around 4:30 a.m. local time.
Conflicting reports suggested both Russian and Ukrainian aircraft had been shot out of the sky. Ukrainian Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko claimed on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had shot down a Russian aircraft over the Kyiv neighborhood of Darnytskyi. Photos and videos showed the aftermath: a nine-story residential apartment building on fire and torn to pieces.
A volunteer, holding a rifle, protects a main road leading into Kyiv.
Daniel Leal/AFP via GettyAs dawn broke on Friday, Kyiv residents were ordered to take shelter from expected airstrikes.
Meanwhile, thousands of Russian troops appeared perilously close to encircling the capital, raising fears of a complete takeover of the nation’s largest city.
U.S. lawmakers were briefed that Russian forces that had entered Ukraine through Belarus were just 20 miles from Kyiv, however Ukrainian forces reportedly managed to both reclaim an airport outside Kyiv and hold off some troops by blowing up a bridge in Ivankov, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Zelensky said the aim of an all-out assault on Kyiv was clear. “According to available information, the enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two,” he said. He’s taking cover in a bunker in a secret location although he said he’s still in the Kyiv area, CNN’s senior international correspondent Matthew Chance reported.
The pre-dawn explosions on Friday followed 24 hours of utter destruction in cities across Ukraine, as Russian forces launched attacks by land, air, and sea—from every direction. The clashes have left some 140 people dead and more than 300 injured, according to Zelensky, who declared nationwide martial law and encouraged citizens to take up arms against the invasion.
Residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty ImagesReports of attacks on hospitals, civilian homes, and even the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant have left the international community stunned and prompted accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes by ordering indiscriminate attacks in violation of international law. “They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. It is a lie, they do not distinguish in which areas to operate,” said Zelensky.
Hundreds in Kyiv have been flocking to bomb shelters since Thursday morning. Metro stations were converted into makeshift safe havens for terrified citizens, as the deafening sound of air raid sirens could be heard blaring on-and-off in the city throughout the day.
By Thursday evening, Putin had resorted to playing the victim card as his troops carried out attacks in city after city with apparent disregard for civilian life.
“All the things happening are necessary measures,” he said in a televised address on Thursday. “They just left no other chances for us to act differently. They created such risks in the sphere of security, that reacting with other means would’ve been impossible.”
Meanwhile, thousands of Russian citizens gathered in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities to protest a war sparked by the Kremlin. The demonstrations were met with a harsh response from authorities, who detained some 1,300 protesters throughout the day, according to independent media watchdog OVD-Info.
In his latest round of coordinated sanctions against Moscow in response to the invasion, President Joe Biden targeted a slew of Russian oligarchs and major banks in addition to blocking technology exports to the country. But he stopped short of introducing more severe measures, including stripping Russia of its access to the SWIFT messaging system and sanctioning Putin himself.
In a Thursday press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. is willing to take in Ukrainian refugees, but as of Thursday, no announcement had been made about offering special visa waivers for asylum seekers.
