Street Fighting begins in Kyiv; People urged to Seek Shelter

Fierce street fighting was reported in Kyiv as Ukrainian troops defend the capital city against the ongoing Russian invasion. Air raid sirens blared throughout the night as the city was hit by missiles and rockets.

Russia continued to defend its invasion and brushed off the sanctions announced so far, vowing to retaliate. Senate speaker Valentina Matvienko, a Russian politician serving as the Senator from Saint Petersburg and Chairwoman of the Federation Council since 2011 — previously she was Governor of Saint Petersburg from 2003 to 2011 — said Moscow had prepared counter-sanctions to hit at “weak” spots of the West.

Street fighting begins in Kyiv. Fighting in the streets has broken out in Ukraine’s ccapital.As Russian powers progressed on to the city, Ukranian authorities encouraged inhabitants to take cover. Men, women, and childrensought safety inside and underground as the government maintained a 39-hour curfew to ensure people stay off the streets.

As dawn broke in Kyiv on Saturday, it wasn’t immediately clear how far the Russian soldiers had advanced. Ukrainian officials reported success in fending off assaults, but fighting continued near the Kyiv. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city of nearly three million people suggested that small Russian units were probing Ukrainian defences to clear a path for the main forces.

Saturday marked the third day of a massive land, sea, and air invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin. The Ukranian invasion turned out to be Russia’s biggest military deployment since World War II and has resulted in hundreds of casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused an American offer for him to evacuate, insisting that he would stay in Kyiv. “The fight is here,” he said on Saturday.

Zelenskyy renewed assurances that the country’s military would stand up to the Russian invasion and said claims the Ukrainian military would put down arms were false.