Ukrainian and Russian Troops Fight on Streets of Capital Kyiv

Ukrainian service members look for and collect

unexploded shells after fighting a Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian
capital of Kyiv on Saturday morning. AFP

(1) Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian military offensive in the

capital, the military said on February 26 after a defiant President
Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his pro-Western country would not be
bowed by Moscow. “I am here. We will not lay down any weapons.

(2) We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,”
Zelensky said, as Russia said it had fired cruise missiles at Ukraine’s
military infrastructure. Wearing olive green military-style clothing and
looking tired but determined, Zelensky said: “Our truth is that this is our
land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this.

(3) “This is what I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine!” It was the third
day since Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale “military
action” that has killed dozens of people, forced tens of thousands to flee
Ukraine and sparked fears of a wider conflict in Europe.

(4) French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the world must
brace for a long war. “This crisis will last, this war will last and all the
crises that come with it will have lasting consequences,” Macron said at
an agriculture fair in France. “We must be prepared”.

(5) A high-rise apartment block was hit by shelling overnight in Kyiv as

the fighting raged, emergency services said. The authorities said the
number of victims was “being specified” and that an evacuation was
underway.
(6) They posted a picture online of the tower block with a hole covering
at least five floors blasted into the side and rubble strewn across the street
below. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said online that the building had
been hit by a “projectile”.

(7) In Kyiv’s city centre, AFP journalists heard loud explosions early on
February 26. “Heavy fighting continues,” the State Special
Communications Service of Ukraine posted on its Telegram account.
Earlier on February 26, Ukraine’s military said Russia had “attacked one
of the military units on Victory Avenue in Kyiv”, but that the assault had
been “repulsed”.

(8) It also reported another incident northwest of the capital. AFP saw a
dead man in civilian clothes lying sprawled on the pavement as nearby
medics rushed to help another man whose car was crushed by an
armoured vehicle. Kyiv said 137 people, including soldiers and civilians,
have been killed.

(9) Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said “two enemy targets were shot
down”–identifying them as a Russian SU-25 helicopter and a military
bomber–near the separatist zone in the east. A Russian transport plane
had also been “knocked down” near Vasylkiv, a town roughly 30km
southwest of Kyiv, the ministry added on its official Facebook page.

(10) Earlier, small arms fire and explosions were heard in the capital’s
northern district Obolonsky as what appeared to be an advance party of
Russian force left a trail of destruction. Ukrainian forces reported
fighting with Russian armoured units in two locations between 40-80km
north of Kyiv.
(11) The Ukrainian defence ministry said 2,800 Russian soldiers had
been killed, without providing evidence. Moscow has yet to report on
casualties.
The US, Canada, Britain and the EU doled out further sanctions on
Russia on February 25, including against Putin and Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov.
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