The bloody advance of the Russians continued late Friday evening in Ukraine, as Putin’s army prepared to bring down the capital Kiev, which has been living with the sounds of missile fire and anti-bombing sirens for three days.
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“The enemy will use all their might to break through our defenses in the most vile, harsh and inhuman way. Tonight [la nuit dernière]they are going to try to seize Kiev,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday evening in a video.
As of this writing, several explosions have been reported in Kyiv, as well as violent clashes across Ukraine, according to the BBC. More than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire were reported near the city zoo.
Fighting was also underway near a power plant in the Troieschyna district of the capital, according to the Ukrainian government. The attack could be aimed at depriving the city of electricity, according to CNN.
Vehicle wrecks and fires were spotted late in the evening all over downtown.
Photo REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise during shelling near Kiev, as the Russian army continues its invasion across Ukraine overnight.
The Ukrainian government also claimed to have halted a Russian advance on Peremohy Avenue in Kyiv, where heavy fighting was reported near a metro station. Images of this attack showing a truck on fire were broadcast in the evening on social networks.
Hidden underground
When the sun set over the capital, the streets of the city were completely deserted. In anguish, the Ukrainians piled up like sardines in the subway or in bunkers.
“We cannot afford to lose the capital,” said the Ukrainian president. Our main objective is to put an end to this bloodbath. »
Ukrainian soldiers have done their best to protect the capital, including stopping cars on the streets and guarding key buildings like hospitals.
ready to fight
North of Kiev, the first Russian soldiers left corpses and blood in their path.
These are some of the traces left by the Russian army which was moving towards the heart of the capital.
The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, who is a former boxing champion, is now armed and in soldier’s uniform to face the Russians. He told CNN on Friday evening that his city had “entered into a difficult night.”
One to four days
Meanwhile, US intelligence officials advised on Friday that they fear Kiev could fall under Russian control within one to four days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian military to surrender during the day. He also insulted Zelensky’s government by calling it “a bunch of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”
During the day on Friday, thousands of Ukrainians tried to flee the capital. Several of them screeched the wheels of their suitcases to manage to catch a train or a bus in order to avoid the Russian attack.
– With AFP, BBC and CNN