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According to officials, there are street fights with Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. After the Russian attack, Ukraine finds itself in a decisive battle for the capital Kiev. “The fate of the country is being decided right now,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday night.
The situation remains unclear. According to reports, there were several explosions in the center of Kiev on Saturday night.
AFP
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In a speech, Volodymyr Zelensky called on his fellow citizens to resist, he is said to have said: “The fate of the country is being decided right now”.
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The Russian attack on Kiev is in full swing, and street fighting is now breaking out in the center.
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Authorities have called on civilians to seek shelter.
In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, control of the capital Kiev is now at stake. The Ukrainian army said early on Saturday morning that it had repelled an attack by Russian forces on a key position in the capital. The Ukrainian authorities in Kiev are warning of street fighting in the capital in view of the Russian invasion. “There is fighting going on in the streets of our city now. We ask you to keep calm and be as careful as possible!”, It said in the message on Saturday. Anyone who is in a bunker should stay there. In the event of an air alert, people should go to the nearest bunker. The city released a map about it.
The population was called on early Saturday morning to go to shelters and stay there. People should stay away from windows or step onto balconies to avoid being hit by bullets or possible debris, it said.
Explosions could be heard in the night
Explosions were heard in several parts of the city overnight. Informed US circles said that the Ukrainian military had repelled several Russian attacks in outskirts. President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that decisive hours have come in the battle for Kiev.
A night attack was aimed at a post on the Kiev Victory Road, the Ukrainian land forces said. The Siegesstrasse is a main traffic artery in the capital. “The attack was repelled,” it said. An AFP journalist reported loud explosions in central Kiev.
In another statement, the army said “heavy fighting” was ongoing in the town of Vasylkiv, south of the capital. Russia is trying to “land paratroopers” there. The military also announced the downing of a Russian helicopter and a SU-25 fighter jet around midnight in the east of the country.
“We can’t lose the capital”
Selenski had prepared the country for a “difficult night”. “Many cities in our state are under attack,” he said in a video message. But Kiev is particularly important: “We cannot lose the capital.” In a video message on his Telegram channel, he called on the Ukrainian population to defend Kiev. “The enemy will use all their strength to break our resistance,” Zelensky said around midnight Ukrainian time. “That night they are preparing to storm Kiev.” He called on all Ukrainians to “stop the enemy wherever possible”. The population should remove all markings that saboteurs put on streets and houses. “Burn the enemy military technology with everything at your disposal!”
Russia began a major attack on Ukraine on Thursday morning. Within a few hours, Russian ground troops had then advanced to the greater Kiev area. According to Kiev, 137 people were killed and hundreds more injured on the first day of fighting. According to the Defense Ministry, 2,800 Russian soldiers were killed. Moscow has not yet given any information on the number of victims on the Russian side.
In a television speech on Friday, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin addressed the Ukrainian army directly and called on them to overthrow Zelenskiy. “Take the power into your hands,” he said. The Ukrainian government consists of “terrorists”, a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.
The aim of the Russian “military operation” is to “liberate” the Ukrainians
Foreign Minister Lavrov said Moscow was ready to negotiate with Ukraine – provided the government in Kiev surrendered. The aim of the Russian “military operation” is to “liberate” the Ukrainians. Hungary offered to host negotiations. However, the US government spoke of “no real” offer of talks. If Moscow wanted diplomacy, it would have to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 50,000 people left Ukraine in the 48 hours after the start of the invasion. Most of them fled to Poland or Moldova, said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.
The EU, Great Britain and the USA decided on sanctions against Putin and Lavrov on Friday
In response to the Russian war in Ukraine, NATO decided to significantly expand its presence on the eastern flank. The allies have activated their defense plans and as a result would provide more forces for the NATO Response Force (NRF), said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Meanwhile, Western countries have introduced further sanctions against Russia. The EU, Great Britain and the USA decided on Friday to take targeted punitive measures against Putin and Lavrov. Canada and Australia wanted to follow suit.
Russia described the sanctions as “a demonstration of the complete impotence of the West’s foreign policy”. “We have reached the line of no return,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Moscow vetoed a resolution tabled in the UN Security Council to criticize the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Of the 15 members of the Council, 11 voted in favor of the draft, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. The failure of the resolution was inevitable because of Russia’s right of veto.
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(AFP / DPA / sys)