Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy issued a defiant message to his people on Saturday morning.
In a video recorded on the street in downtown Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that he hasn’t left the city and dispelled claims that Ukraine’s military would lay down its weapons.
“We will protect the country,” he said. “Our weapon is our truth, and our truth is that it’s our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that.”
Meanwhile one of Zelenskyy’s advisers said that fighting is raging in the capital and in the south of Ukraine, but that the Ukrainian military is successfully fending off Russian assaults. Intense fighting overnight appeared to stem some of the Russian advance towards the capital.
Explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the night around Kyiv, with reports of hundreds of casualties in the fighting. The shelling sliced through at least one Kyiv apartment building and pummelled bridges and schools.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused a US offer to help him leave the city amid growing signs that Russia wanted to overthrow his government.
Reports from news agencies, citing Ukrainian military sources, that Kalibr missiles have been fired towards Ukraine from Russian vessels in the Black Sea.