Russia gathers troops ‘closer and closer’ to Kyiv as Ukraine ‘destroys’ two Russian planes in battle over capital
KUMASI, 02 March, (Futball Surgery)– Russia gathers troops ‘closer and closer’ to Kyiv as Ukraine ‘destroys’ two Russian planes in battle over capital.
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Russian troops ‘completely surround’ the cities of Kherson and Mariupol; Key Russian target Kharkiv comes under intense shelling; Putin’s troops continue to close in on the capital of Kyiv; More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians killed.
Russia is closing in on Kyiv as Ukraine said it destroyed two Russian planes in an airborne battle over the capital.
The Ukrainian emergency service said more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the Russian invasion which began seven days ago.
“Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour,” it said in a statement.
Kyiv’s mayor said Russia is gathering forces “closer and closer” to the Ukrainian capital after a long convoy of military vehicles stalled around 20 miles northwest of the city in the early hours of Wednesday.
Ukraine’s air force said to Ukrainian MIG-29 fighters fought two Russian planes in a battle over the Kyiv region, destroying two planes and losing one fighter of their own.
Russia claims to have seized the southern city of Kherson after taking the railway station and port overnight. If confirmed, it would be the largest city in Ukraine to fall so far.
Fighting is also intensifying in the southeastern city of Mariupol, with its mayor saying Russian forces are “actively preventing the evacuation of citizens”.
Key developments:
- Second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine to take place today
- UN claims at least 660,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes
- Boris Johnson accuses Putin of ‘war crime’ after MPs give rare standing ovation
- Navalny calls for daily protests against Putin
- Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at Winter Paralympics
- NATO looking into no-fly zone above Ukraine
The northeast city of Kharkiv saw some of the worst attacks from the air, including a paratrooper assault on a military hospital overnight.
Four more people were killed and nine injured after a barrage of Russian air and rocket strikes pounded the city on Wednesday morning, the local emergency services and Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
And at least four people, including a child, were killed when homes in the city were hit by a missile strike in the northwest city of Zhytomyr.
Vladimir Putin’s forces are attempting to keep Sumy, Lebedyn and Okhytrka surrounded, according to Ukrainian military sources.
Russia also reportedly has naval forces in the Black Sea preparing a landing and has cut off Ukrainian access to the Sea of Azov.
Meanwhile, at least 21 people were killed and 112 injured in rocket strikes on the centre of Kharkiv, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said.
Two buildings in the northeastern city have also been struck by missiles this morning as Kharkiv has come under intense shelling over the past two days.
The deputy governor of the region, Roman Semenukha, said Russian forces fired a cruise missile into the city council building.
Sky News has verified a video showing one of the attacks in central Kharkiv (above), which damaged Karazin National University and an adjacent police building.
Similar strikes that killed and wounded dozens in Ukraine’s capital in previous days involved cluster bombs, experts have said.
Another verified video shows the aftermath of an airstrike in Lysychansk, near the city’s TV tower.
Troops close in on Kyiv, residents urged to flee
Russia’s defence ministry urged Kyiv residents to flee the capital, saying it would strike unspecified areas used by Ukraine’s security services and communications.
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post that Russian forces are closing in the capital, adding: “We are preparing and will defend Kyiv! Kyiv stands and will stand.”
A long convoy of Russian armoured vehicles was understood to be within 20 miles of Kyiv on Wednesday morning – with an attack on the Ukrainian capital looking imminent.
But the advance of a convoy has reportedly been halted in several locations surrounding the capital, while there has been bombing in Chernihiv – a significant location on one of the main routes to the northeast of the city from Belarus.
A US official said that the forces had not escalated in the past 24 hours due to being frozen by logistics problems, short on fuel and food, and perhaps pausing to reassess tactics.
Zelenskyy coordinates actions with Boris Johnson
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted on Wednesday to say he has “coordinated actions” with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“The prime minister told President Zelenskyy that the UK was rallying UN General Assembly members today, to ensure the strongest possible condemnation of Russia at this afternoon’s UN meeting in New York,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
She added that both leaders agreed on the need for “sanctions to go further to exert maximum pressure on President Putin” in the coming days.
Russia’s TASS news agency cited an adviser to Mr Zelenskyy as saying the second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Wednesday.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy condemned Russia for indiscriminately attacking Ukrainian citizens and historical landmarks.
He said: “As you can see, no one is being very careful about the targets. We see the children are being killed… We are defending our right to life.”
At least 660,000 flee Ukraine
Russia’s unrestrained bombing actions on Tuesday raised concerns that more civilians could be killed in strikes.
The UN claims at least 660,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes.
US President Joe Biden said that the Russian president must “pay a price” for his invasion of Ukraine as he announced the closure of US airspace to Russian flights.
In a State of the Union address, Mr Biden told Americans to “draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people”.
Occupation of Kherson as fighting in Mariupol intensifies
Russian armed forces have taken full control of the regional centre of Kherson after entering the city overnight, the Russian defence ministry has said.
The southern city is now “completely surrounded” by Russian troops, according to the city’s mayor.
Earlier, Igor Kolykhayev said Moscow had taken control of the city’s railway station and port overnight.
Witnesses claim Russian troops are on the streets, though the exact situation in the city remains unclear.
The Russian military is currently active in several Ukrainian cities, with Ukraine’s southeastern port of Mariupol under constant shelling and unable to evacuate the injured.
“We are fighting, we are not ceasing to defend our motherland,” Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko said live on
Ukrainian TV.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s defence forces said on Wednesday morning that Russian troops are attempting to continue their attack on the outskirts of Horenychi, Hostomel and Demidiv “in the direction of Kyiv in order to block the capital from the northern and northwestern directions”.
Ukraine says that up to 17 BTGs are attempting to block Kyiv from the northeast “despite the loss of manpower and equipment”.
The country’s defence forces added that Russian troops were stopped in Kozelets, Bobrovytsia and Makiiv, while Moscow reportedly “lost their offensive potential” in parts of Svitilnya, Peremoha and Hostroluchcha.
Ukrainian officials believe that Belarus is preparing to join Russia in the fighting, with satellite imagery showing Belarussian aircraft assembling near the border.
