Ukraine prepared on Sunday for a “relentless defense” of Kyiv as capital faced possible encirclement by Russian forces who also launched a air strike on a military based outside the city of Lviv, near the Polish border.
In a video address posted on social media late Saturday night, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was adamant that the Russians would not take Ukraine.
“The Russian invaders cannot conquer us. They don’t have such force. They don’t have such a spirit. They only hold on violence. Only on terror. Only on weapons, of of which they have a lot,” he said.
Local officials said Russian forces fired eight missiles at a military training ground about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Lviv, which is a hub for joint exercises between Ukrainians soldiers and NATO allies.
the head of Lviv regional administration Maxim Kozitsky said there was no information again on victims.
A convoy of directed humanitarian aid for the south harbor city of Mariupol was blocked at a Russian checkpoint, but hoped arrive on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The strategic port is facing what Ukraine says is a “humanitarian disaster” after more more than 1,500 civilians were killed.
Attempts to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people have repeatedly failed.
“Mariupol is still surrounded. What they cannot have by war, (the Russians) want have by hunger and despair. Since they can’t bring down the Ukrainian army, they are targeting population,” a French military says the source.
A senior Russian officer described the situation in rigid language.
“Unfortunately, the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate rapidly, and in some cities it has reached catastrophic proportions,” said the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev.
In son video address, Zelenskyy appealed for more aid.
“I keep telling our allies and friends abroad that they must continue to do more for our country, for Ukrainians and Ukraine. Because it’s not just for Ukraine, but it’s for all of European,” he said.
The Russians have advanced enough to scare of Kyiv to be surrounded imminently. Other cities have already fallen or surrounded since Russia invaded son next to on February 24, with targeted civilians in what the United Nations has warned could amount to war crimes.
the key south harbor of Odessa was preparing for a offensive by Russian troops, who concentrated about 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the east in the city of Mykolaiv.
Mykolaiv, which is located on the city’s strategic port road has been under attack for days, and a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP) said that a hospital was there fire.
Zelenskyy said “about 1,300” Ukrainians soldiers had been killed since February 24, giving son country first official ring.
He claimed that Russia had lost around 12,000 troops while Moscow, for his share, only gave a toll of 498 deadposted on March 2.
At least 579 civilians have been killed, according to a count on Saturday by the UN, which stressed that its figures were likely much lower than those reality.
The UN estimates that about 2.6 millions people have fled Ukraine since the invasionmore of in Poland, in The worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
In Kyivonly the roads to the south remain open and the city is preparing to mount a “relentless defense”, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital, described by a senior Ukrainian official Friday as a “city besieged”, strengthened the defenses and stored food and medicine.
british ministry of defense estimates that the Russian forces were about 25 kilometers from Kyiv on Saturday and only one column north of the city had dispersed, reinforcing the indication of an attempt to surround it.
However, the Russians encountered resistance from the Ukrainian army in the east and west of the capital, according to AFP journalists on the place.
Ukrainian soldiers said they thought the Russians had overestimated their resources, in terms of troops and equipmentand underrated ones of their opponents.
“They have to camp in villages in temperatures of almost minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. They lack food and have to raid houses,” said one soldier, Ilya Berezenko, 27 years old.
Intense diplomatic efforts continued, with The leaders of France and Germany, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, urge their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a trilogueway telephone conversation on Saturday to end the deadly blockade, Paris said.
Faced with growth international condemnation, Putin sought to reverse the situation, slamming Kyiv for what he called a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law and accuse the Ukrainian army of execute dissidents and using civilians as hostages.
The French presidency denounced his accusations, made during the talks with Macron and Scholz, like “lies”.
Corn in a small glow of hope, Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia – after appearing not to budge for days – had taken a “fundamentally different approach” in the latest talks to end the conflict.
He told reporters he was “happy to have a signal of Russia” after Putin spoke of “some positive changes” in almost daily dialogue.
As Russia Expands Bombing, Zelenskyy’s Appeals for help became more and more desperate.
Washington and its EU allies sent funds and military assistance to Ukraine and taken action against Russia economy and the oligarchs. A cultural and sporting event boycott has further isolated Moscow.
In the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on On Saturday, a Ukrainian soldier who did not give son name that as Viktor showed off son British anti-tank missile system and twisted it remains of a Russian vehicle this destroyed.
“I want say a big thank you to our British comrades who help us,” he said.
As international punishments against Moscow have steadily tightened, crippling Russia’s economythe country space The Roscosmos agency warned on Saturday that the International Space Station could crash if the Russian spacecraft serving it are affected.
But washington on Friday added more layers of sanctions, this time ending normally trade relationships and announcing a ban on Russian vodka, seafood and diamonds.
And on On Saturday, US President Joe Biden authorized up at 200 millions of dollars in new weapons and other aid to Ukraine. But he ruled out direct action against nuclear-armed Russia, warning that it would be lead to “World War III”.
