Ukraine invasion: What to know as Russian forces target Kyiv

Invading Russian forces are closing in on Ukraine’s capital and the city government is warning of street fighting and urging residents to stay inside and take cover

Ukraine Invasion (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

After a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country, Russian forces were closing in on Ukraine's capital on Saturday. The city warned of street fighting and urged residents to stay inside and take cover.

With growing signs that Russia aims to overthrow him, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to “stand firm,” saying the "fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.” He refused American help to leave, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official.

Zelenskyy said in a video released Saturday that Russian attempts to forge into Kyiv have been repelled and Moscow’s plan to quickly seize the capital and install a puppet government has been thwarted.

Ukrainian officials reported some success in fending off assaults, but fighting persisted near the capital. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces.

However, U.S. defense officials said they believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding more slowly than Moscow had envisioned, though that could change quickly.

Here are the things to know about the conflict and the security crisis in former Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe:

RUSSIAN TROOPS MARCH ON

Kyiv officials are warning residents that street fighting is underway against Russian forces. They advised residents to remain in shelters or if home to avoid going near windows or onto balconies, and to take precautions against being hit by debris or bullets.

The Ukrainian military said a battle was underway near a military unit to the west of the city center. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said new explosions shook the area near a major power plant that the Russians were trying to attack.

A missile slammed into a high-rise building on the southwestern outskirts of Kyiv, Klitschko said Saturday. He said rescue workers were heading there and posted an image on a messaging app, showing a gaping hole on one side of the building.

Russian troops were trying to advance on the city from several directions.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov claimed Saturday that since the start of Russia’s attack, its military had hit 821 Ukrainian military facilities, 87 tanks and other targets.

Konashenkov didn’t say how many Ukrainian troops were killed and didn’t mention any casualties on the Russian side. Neither his claims nor Ukraine’s allegations that its forces killed thousands of Russian troops could be independently verified.

Konashenkov claimed that the Russian military has taken full control of the southern city of Melitopol, about 35 kilometers inland from the Azov Sea coast, and said Russia-backed separatists have made significant gains in the eastern region of Donbas.

CIVILIANS IN HARM'S WAY

Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but civilians have been killed and injured during Europe’s largest ground war since World War II.

Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Saturday that 198 people have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded in the Russian offensive. It was not clear whether the figure in his statement included both military and civilians.

He said a further 1,115 people, including 33 children, were wounded in the Russian invasion.

A missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the city’s southwestern outskirts near one of Kyiv’s two passenger airports, Mayor Klitchsko said, leaving a jagged hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured.

After 8 p.m. on Friday, a large boom was heard near Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square in central Kyiv. And the mayor said five explosions struck near a major power plant just outside the city. The causes of the explosions was not immediately known.

FLEEING FOR SAFETY

The conflict has already driven hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians from their homes. U.N. officials said more than 120,000 Ukrainians have left the country for Poland, Moldova and other neighboring nations.

The number was going up fast as Ukrainians grabbed their belongings and rushed to escape from a deadly Russian onslaught on their nation.

“Almost 116,000 have crossed international borders as of right now. This may go up, it’s changing every minute,” said Shabia Mantoo, the spokeswoman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “It’s very fluid and changing by the hour.”

The agency expects up to 4 million Ukrainians could flee if the situation deteriorates further.

With men of military age banned from leaving the country, most of those who crossed borders were women, children and the elderly.

Cars were backed up for several miles at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive the Ukrainians, providing shelter, food and legal help. These countries also eased their usual border procedures, including COVID-19 testing requirements.

HINTS OF TALKS TO STOP THE FIGHTING

Hopes for a negotiated end to the war rose and then dimmed on Friday after a tentative agreement to discuss Zelenskyy’s offer to designate Ukraine a non-aligned country appeared to break down.

The Kremlin initially said it was ready to send a delegation to Belarus, then later backpedaled, saying the Ukrainian government had indicated it preferred to meet in Warsaw and then halted communications. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also questioned the sincerity of the Ukrainian president’s offer and said Zelenskyy should have agreed to talks earlier on.

But late Friday, Zelenskyy spokesman Sergii Nikiforov wrote on Facebook that the two sides were consulting on a place and time for the talks.

TURNING THE SCREWS ON RUSSIA

The West has taken a military option in Ukraine off the table, but world leaders — with the exception of Moscow ally China — are preparing measures aimed at hurting the Russian economy and its leaders, including Putin himself.

The U.S., Britain, Canada and European Union said Friday they will sanction Putin and Lavrov, his foreign minister. The EU unanimously agreed to freeze their assets.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated the U.S. sanctions will include a travel ban.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the sanctions showed the “total helplessness” of the West. “Who are you going to talk to? ... A nuclear power, a great country; who have you decided to play with?” Zakharova said in televised remarks.

EU ministers have said that even further sanctions were still possible, including booting Russia out of SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.

Asian and Pacific countries have joined the West in taking punitive measures against Russia, including export controls aimed at starving its industries and military of semiconductors and other high-tech products.

And in pop culture, the wildly popular Eurovision song contest also banned Russia from the May finals in Turin, Italy.

SPORTING WORLD TURNS ITS BACK

Poland is refusing to play its World Cup qualifier against Russia next month in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Polish soccer federation president said Saturday. The match had been scheduled for March 24.

In addition, Russia has been stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA w ith St. Petersburg replaced by Paris, and Formula One dropped this season’s Russian Grand Prix in Sochi in September.

The showpiece final in the European men’s football season will still be held on May 28 but at the 80,000-seat Stade de France.

The International Ski Federation announced Russia will not host any more of its World Cup events this winter, and the European curling championships scheduled to be held in November in Perm, Russia, will also be relocated, the sport’s international governing body announced on Friday.

The International Tennis Federation also canceled all events taking place in Russia indefinitely.

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Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine