Kiev: Russian forces have been closing in on the Ukranian capital Kiev and have been facing stiff resistance, the BBC reported on Saturday.
According to the Ukrainian military on Saturday one of its army units managed to repel Russian forces near its base on a major city street. The city government also confirmed that there was fighting on the streets and urged people to stay at home.
Ukrainian President Zelensky had earlier warned that Russia would try to capture the capital Kyiv. However, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov claimed that the Ukrainian army was “in control” of the situation with whatever means that is available to them.
Early on Saturday, Ukraine’s air force also reported heavy fighting near the Vasylkiv air base, southwest of Kyiv, after it came under attack by Russian paratroopers, adding that it had managed to shoot down a Russian transport plane.
As Russian troops close in on Kyiv, Ukrainian President Zelensky has pleaded with the West for faster and tougher sanctions against Russia, like cutting Russia off from Swift – the system used for global business transactions.Â
