An advance party of Russia’s invasion force left a trail of damage in its wake as clashes erupted inside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for the first time, amid rising fears the city is about to be stormed.
The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. Russian troops also entered the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east.
According to BBC, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence called on those living in Kyiv’s northern outskirts – where the tanks were filmed – to make firebombs “to neutralise the enemy”.
“The hardest day will be today. The enemy’s plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv,” Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram.
Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-decommissioned Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Moscow was ready for talks “as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to our call and lay down their arms”.
He told reporters Russia did not intend to occupy Ukraine, saying their aims were clear: “Demilitarisation and de-Nazification.”
Read also: Why Russia-Ukraine crisis will not lead to World War 3
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier said Russia was seeking to “destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state”.
“According to the information we have, the enemy has designated me as target number one. My family is target number two,” he said.
President Zelensky has vowed to stay in Kyiv and to continue fighting the attacks across Ukraine – which is coming from the north, south and east – ordering the call-up of conscripts and reservists in all of Ukraine’s regions. The country’s defence minister urged anyone able to hold a weapon to join the effort to repel Russia.
There have already been stories of immense bravery in the face of stark odds – including that of 13 border guards on a tiny island in the Black Sea who refused to surrender to a Russian warship and were massacred in a bombardment.
President Zelensky said they would be given posthumous war hero honours.
