Ukraine invasion: Russians close in on Kyiv but meet strong resistance

Russian assaults on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have been met with fierce resistance, as the Ukrainian military says it has fought off several attacks.

The military said in a Facebook post early on Saturday that an army unit managed to repel Russian forces near its base on a major city street.

In a new video, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state.”

The city government confirmed ongoing fighting and urged people to stay home.

According to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, city officials put out a statement asking people to stay in shelters and to stay away from windows if they were at home.

But Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov told Ukrainian news site Lb.ua that the army was “in control” of the situation.

“We are stopping the horde using all means available. The army servicemen and citizens are in control of Kyiv,” said Mr Danilov.

In his self-shot video, Mr Zelensky could be seen walking around Kyiv’s government district in an apparent effort to combat rumours he had called on the army to surrender to Russian troops.

“There’s a lot of fake information online that I’m calling on our army to lay down arms, and that there’s evacuation,” he said against a backdrop of Kyiv’s Gorodetsky House.

“I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state.”

Kyiv is waking up after another anxious night.

Those who haven’t managed to leave the city by road or rail are spending long hours in basements, bomb shelters and underground stations.

Late last night, the frequent rumble of artillery fire could be heard in the distance, as Russian forces apparently attempted to weaken the city’s defences.

But the attack on Kyiv, predicted last night by President Zelensky, does not appear to have materialised. So far.

This morning, as first light comes, the city seems mostly silent, with few sounds to indicate the fierce battles that have been taking place in more than one direction.

Everyone knows this could all change in an instant. Some may be hoping that last night’s talk of possible negotiations could, somehow, halt the bloodshed.

One way or another, Kyiv will remain on edge.

Western officials say that Ukraine’s military has been effective in slowing the Russian advance.

But they worry that the Russians, impatient to inflict a rapid victory, could resort to drastic measures.

“My fear would be that if they don’t meet the timescales and objectives… they will be indiscriminate in the use of violence,” one said.

“The problem is that [Vladimir Putin], having committed himself in the way that he has, this is now not a war of choice for him, but a war of necessity.”

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s air force command also reported heavy fighting near the Vasylkiv air base, southwest of Kyiv, adding that it was under attack by Russian paratroopers.

Separately it claimed one of its fighters had shot down a Russian transport plane. The BBC was unable to verify this.

President Zelensky had earlier warned that Russia would try to “storm” Kyiv on Friday night.

“This night the enemy will be using all available means to break our resistance. This night they will launch an assault,” said Mr Zelensky.

“This night we must persevere. The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now… Our main goal is to finish this bloodbath.”

While Mr Zelensky acknowledged Russian forces had inflicted casualties, he maintained “the enemy has sustained very serious casualties”, too. The BBC cannot verify this claim.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Mr Zelensky said the country was prepared to hold ceasefire and peace talks with Russia immediately and were discussing a place and time to hold talks.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Russian president and his top diplomat were “responsible for the deaths of innocent people in Ukraine, and for trampling on the international system”.

“We, as Europeans, do not accept that,” she said, after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.

As Russian troops close in on Kyiv, Ukraine has been pleading with the West for faster and tougher sanctions to punish Moscow for its attack.

Mr Zelensky urged Europe to impose harder sanctions on Moscow.

He wants leaders to cut off Russia from Swift – the system used for global business transactions.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also urged the West to block Russia from the payments system to “inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime”.

But the EU has so far opted not to cut off Russia from Swift – reportedly due to objections from some member states, including Germany and Italy.

However, Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said later on Friday that it would not veto proposals to ban Russia.

The EU’s latest round of sanctions also targets Russian elites and make it harder for its diplomats to travel.

Russia has responded with tit-for-tat measures against Western sanctions, banning British flights to and over its territory in retaliation to a UK ban on the Russian airline Aeroflot.