VLADIMIR Putin’s troops are now within 20 miles of Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rips Joe Biden for “leaving Ukraine alone.”
Zelensky said at least 137 troops and civilians were killed on the first day of fighting, adding that Russian “sabotage forces” had entered the city to hunt him and his family down.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said 137 troops were killed on the first day of fighting[/caption]
Explosions in Kyiv were reported Thursday night as Russian forces move closer to the capital city[/caption]
“We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone,” he said.
“Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.”
Zelensky said referred to himself as “target number one”, urging residents to remain vigilant and obey curfew rules.
The capital is expected to be surrounded by Russian forces by this weekend. Troops already took control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, bringing a “new Iron Curtain” down on Europe, said Zelensky.
A decree by the president was also signed on the general mobilization of the population within 90 days, however, men aged 18 to 60 are banned from leaving the country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian troops in Kyiv to force them to surrender or “be destroyed”.
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Blinken added that Ukraine’s leadership could fall within a week.
According to the Pentagon, Russia has fired “more than 160 missiles into Ukraine,” but more airstrikes are expected to happen.
Most of the missiles are short-range ballistic projectiles but the airstrike also includes “a mix of medium-range as well as cruise missiles,” said an official from the Department of Defense.
“We have also seen indications since we last talked of additional airborne troops into Kharkiv,” the official said. “Our assessment is still that there’s active fighting going on there.”
It comes as:
- All eyes on Kyiv with Putin’s forces expected to launch an assault on the city of 2.9million people
- Defiant Ukrainian soldiers are using UK missiles to fight off Putin’s invasion
- Kyiv’s troops managed to recapture a key airport after a botched helicopter assault by the Russians
- Russia managed to capture Chernobyl power plant – sparking fears of a new nuclear disaster
- At least 1,500 people have been arrested in Russia for protesting against the war in Ukraine
- Thousands of Brits are fleeing as 1million people are on the move in mass exodus from Ukraine
- Western sanctions are targeting Russian money as Boris Johnson branded Putin as a “bloodstained aggressor“
- Tom Tugendhat MP, chair of the foreign affairs committee, wrote in The Sun that Putin and his “band of thieves” must be punished
In an effort to stop the capture of Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Putin on Thursday night and it’s reported that Putin gave his justification for war.
The Kremlin said that Macron and Putin agreed to stay in contact.
Protests against the invasion have sprouted all around the world[/caption]
A damaged residential building in Kyiv[/caption]
More to follow…
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