Russia

Battle for Kyiv: Street Fighting Begins, People Urged to Seek Shelter

Five explosions struck near a major power plant on Kyiv's eastern outskirts, said Mayor Vitaly Klitschko

Ukrainian service members look for unexploded shells after a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the morning of February 26, 2022, according to Ukrainian service personnel at the scene.

Kyiv officials are warning residents that street fighting is underway against Russian forces, and they are urging people to seek shelter.

The warning issued Saturday advised residents to remain in shelters, to avoid going near windows or on balconies, and to take precautions against being hit by debris or bullets.

As dawn broke in Kyiv, it was not immediately clear how far the soldiers had advanced. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were probing Ukrainian defenses to clear a path for the main forces.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered renewed assurance Saturday that the country’s military would stand up to the Russian invasion. In a video recorded on a downtown street, he said he had not left the city and that claims that the Ukrainian military would put down arms were false.

“We aren’t going to lay down 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.”

The street clashes followed fighting that pummeled bridges, schools and apartment buildings, and resulted in hundreds of casualties. By Saturday morning, when the small Russian units tried to infiltrate Kyiv, Ukrainian forces controlled the situation, Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.

But the swift movement of the troops after less than three days of fighting further imperiled a country clinging to independence in the face of a broad Russian assault, which threatened to topple the democratic government and scramble the post-Cold War world order.

The street clashes followed fighting that pummeled bridges, schools and apartment buildings, and resulted in hundreds of casualties.

Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to “stand firm” against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: “The fight is here.”

Hundreds of casualties were reported in the fighting, which included shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools. There also were growing signs that Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government, which U.S. officials have described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate objective.

The assault represented Putin's boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence. It triggered new international efforts to end the invasion, including direct sanctions on Putin.

As his country confronted explosions and gunfire, and as the fate of Kyiv hung in the balance, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a bleak statement that multiple cities were under attack.

“This night we have to stand firm,” he said. "The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.”

Zelenskyy was urged to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation. The official quoted the president as saying that “the fight is here" and that he needed anti-tank ammunition but “not a ride.”

For their part, U.S. defense officials believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding slower than Moscow had envisioned, though that could change quickly.

The Kremlin accepted Kyiv’s offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of the embattled Zelenskyy instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution. Ukraine nonetheless remains “ready to discuss a cease-fire and peace," said Zelenskyy spokesman Sergii Nikiforov.

The Russian military continued its advance, laying claim Friday to the southern Ukraine city of Melitopol. Still, it was unclear in the fog of war how much of Ukraine is still under Ukrainian control and how much or little Russian forces have seized.

As fighting persisted, Ukraine’s military reported shooting down an II-76 Russian transport plane carrying paratroopers near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Kyiv, an account confirmed by a senior American intelligence official. It was unclear how many were on board. Transport planes can carry up to 125 paratroopers.

See How Russia's Attacks on Ukraine Unfolded

There have been dozens of reports of attacks in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military invasion into the country on Feb. 23, 2022.

Note: Timeline in Eastern Time
Source: NBC News
Credit: Andrew Williams/NBC

The U.S. and other global powers slapped ever-tougher sanctions on Russia as the invasion reverberated through the world’s economy and energy supplies, threatening to further hit ordinary households. U.N. officials said millions could flee Ukraine. Sports leagues moved to punish Russia and even the popular Eurovision song contest banned it from the May finals in Italy.

Through it all, Russia remained unbowed, vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that it stop attacking Ukraine and withdraw troops immediately. The veto was expected, but the U.S. and its supporters argued that the effort would highlight Moscow’s international isolation. The 11-1 vote, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining, showed significant but not total opposition to Russia’s invasion of its smaller, militarily weaker neighbor.

NATO, meanwhile, decided to send parts of the alliance’s response force to help protect its member nations in the east for the first time. NATO did not say how many troops would be deployed but added that it would involve land, sea and air power.

Day Two of Russia’s invasion, the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, focused on the Ukrainian capital, where Associated Press reporters heard explosions starting before dawn and gunfire was reported in several areas.

After 8 p.m., a large boom was heard near Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square in central Kyiv that was the heart of protests which led to the 2014 ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president. The cause was not immediately known.

Five explosions struck near a major power plant on Kyiv’s eastern outskirts, said Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. There was no information on what caused them, and no electrical outages were immediately reported.

Russia’s military said it seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital. It claimed to have already cut the city off from the west — the direction taken by many to escape the invasion — leading to lines of cars snaking toward the Polish border.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have blocked off the cities of Sumy and Konotop and said that the offensive had netted dozens of Ukrainian military assets. The statement could not be independently confirmed.

Intense gunfire broke out on a bridge across the Dnieper River dividing eastern and western Kyiv, while another key bridge to the capital was blown away.

It was unclear how many people overall had died. Ukrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side from the firsat full day of fighting and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures.

U.N. officials reported 25 civilian deaths, mostly from shelling and airstrikes, and said that 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes, estimating up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates.

Zelenskyy tweeted that he and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone and discussed “strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an antiwar coalition,” adding that he was grateful for Washington’s support.

Late Friday, Biden signed a memo clearing the way for the U.S. to expedite more than $500 million in emergency military assistance to the Ukrainian government, though it was not immediately clear how quickly the aid would flow.

His whereabouts were kept secret after telling European leaders in a call Thursday night that he was Russia’s No. 1 target — and that they might not see him again alive. His office later released a video of him standing with senior aides outside the presidential office, saying he and other government officials would stay in the capital.

“All of us are here protecting our independence of our country,” Zelenskyy said. “And it will continue to be this way. Glory to our defenders, glory to Ukraine, glory to heroes.”

A U.S. defense official said a Russian amphibious assault was underway, and thousands of Russian forces were moving ashore from the Sea of Azov, west of Mariupol. The official said Ukrainian air defenses have been degraded but are still operating, and that about a third of the combat power that Russia had massed around Ukraine is now inside the country. The official estimated Russia had fired more than 200 missiles into Ukraine, with some hitting residential areas.

A senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of current intelligence assessments told AP that Russian armor is 50 kilometers (31 miles) to both the north and west of Kyiv.

Zelenskyy earlier offered to negotiate on a key Putin demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. The Kremlin said Kyiv initially agreed to have talks in Minsk, then said it would prefer Warsaw and later halted communications. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said later that Kyiv would discuss prospects for talks on Saturday.

The assault was anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and denied to be in the works just as long by Putin. He argued the West left him with no other choice by refusing to negotiate Russia’s security demands.

In a window into how the increasingly isolated Putin views Ukraine and its leadership, he urged Ukraine’s military to surrender, saying: “We would find it easier to agree with you than with that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have holed up in Kyiv and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage.”

Playing on Russian nostalgia for World War II heroism, the Kremlin equates members of Ukrainian right-wing groups with neo-Nazis. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, angrily dismisses those claims.

Putin has not disclosed his ultimate plans for Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a hint, saying “We want to allow the Ukrainian people to determine its own fate.” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia recognizes Zelenskyy as the president, but would not say how long the Russian military operation could last.

Ukrainians abruptly adjusted to life under fire, after Russian forces invaded the country from three sides as they massed an estimated 150,000 troops nearby.

Residents of a Kyiv apartment building woke to screaming, smoke and flying dust. What the mayor identified as Russian shelling tore off part of the building and ignited a fire.

“What are you doing? What is this?” resident Yurii Zhyhanov asked Russian forces. Like countless other Ukrainians, he grabbed what belongings he could, took his mother, and fled, car alarms wailing behind him.

Elsewhere in Kyiv, the body of a dead soldier lay near an underpass. Fragments of a downed aircraft smoked amid the brick homes of a residential area. Black plastic was draped over body parts found beside them. And people climbed out of bomb shelters, basements and subways to face another day of upheaval.

“We’re all scared and worried. We don’t know what to do then, what’s going to happen in a few days,” said Lucy Vashaka, 20, a worker at a small Kyiv hotel.

Traffic was backed up for miles on Thursday as people flee Kyiv.

AP reporters saw signs of significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv. Russian troops also entered the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. A Russian missile launcher was seen on the outskirts of Kharkiv in the east.

At the Pentagon, press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. believes the offensive, including its advance on Kiev, has gone more slowly than Moscow had planned, noting that Ukraine forces have been fighting back. But he also said the military campaign is in an early stage and circumstances can change rapidly.

The Biden administration said Friday that it would move to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, following the European Union and Britain in directly sanctioning top Russian leadership.

Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, called the sanctions against Putin and Lavrov “an example and a demonstration of a total helplessness” of the West

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Firefighters respond to a four story residential building after it was hit by a “kamikaze drone” attack early morning, Oct. 17, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Approximately three people were killed.
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Smoke rises over the street after a drone attack in Kyiv, Oct. 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. – Ukraine officials said Kyiv had been struck four times in an early morning Russian attack with Iranian drones that damaged a residential building and targeted the central train station.
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A Ukrainian woman is seen with her child after the Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022. It was reported that at least four explosions were heard in Ukraineâs capital Kyiv on Monday as authorities reported attacks by Russian kamikaze drones.
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Firefighters work on a building destroyed by Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022.
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The city council in Kupyansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine, destroyed by shelling by Russian forces on Oct. 16, 2022.
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Police examine destroyed cars in Kyiv after several Russian strikes hit the capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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A rescue worker escorts an injured resident and her dogs out of a building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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People hug outside a partially destroyed office building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine Monday morning, with fatal strikes targeting the capital as well as cities in the south and west. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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Residents examine a crater following a missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded on the bridge near Kirch, Oct. 8, 2022. The explosion damaged Russia’s sole land link with annexed Crimea in a symbolic win for Ukraine.
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A local resident cycles past an abandoned Russian T-72 tank in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Sept. 29, 2022. Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine has lasted over 200 days, with an end to the conflict nowhere in sight.
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Destroyed churches seen in Bohorodychne village in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Sept. 13, 2022. Russia said on September 13 it was carrying out “massive strikes” across the Ukrainian front line.
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Destroyed houses seen after a strike in Pryvillya, Donbas, June 14, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the eastern Luhansk region.
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A local community art center is destroyed following a strike in Lysychansk, Donbas, June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
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Ukrainian soldiers inspect a destroyed warehouse reportedly targeted by Russian troops on outskirts of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
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The tail of a rocket is nailed into a pavement in the city of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
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The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, under the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, May 12, 2022. Mariupol's last defenders surrendered to Russian forces mid-May after weeks of assaults below the steelworks plant, as Russia sought to solidify its influence over the separatist-controlled territory of Donbas.
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Police walk among the rubble of a destroyed house in Bohdanivka village, April 14, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion launched on Ukraine.
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Calcinated cars seen outside a train station hit by a Russian rocket attack killing at least 35 people, on April 8, 2022, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The station was being used for civilian evacuations at the time.
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A picture taken on March 21, 2022 shows a view of the damage at the Retroville shopping mall, a day after it was shelled by Russian forces in a residential district in the northwest of the Ukranian capital Kyiv. At least six people were killed in the bombing.
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In this photo, newborn babies are seen inside their cribs in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 17, 2022. Surrogate-born babies cannot reunite with their biological families due to ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine.
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The main television tower in Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian airstrike the day before, March 2, 2022.
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Police officers pass by the wreckage of a building after reported shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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A man cuddles a newborn baby in the basement of a maternity hospital, which was converted to a medical ward and used as a shelter amid Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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Jordanian nationals who fled the war in Ukraine reunite with relatives at the Marka military airport, Amman, Jordan, upon their evacuation by a military flight from Romania on March 2, 2022.
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Distraught women and children fleeing war-torn Ukraine wait to cross into Poland at the Korczowa crossing, March 2, 2022 near Korczowa, Poland.
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Ukrainians work on a camouflage net for the army in Lviv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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Rocket fire launched by Russian invaders damages a five-story hostel in Vasylkiv, Ukraine.
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A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier (APC) BTR-4 destroyed as a result of fight not far from the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022, a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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A school is reduced to a pile of rubble after fight in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. The fight was only a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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Ukrainian territorial defense forces hug in a basement used as a military base on the fifth day since start of large-scale Russian attacks in the country, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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A woman stands amid damage due to armed conflict in Donetsk region under the control of pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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A refugee sits by a fire after crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border, Medyka, Poland, on Feb. 28, 2022.
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People construct barricades outside schools and public buildings on the fifth day since Russia invaded Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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Refugees from Ukraine gather to take a bus from the border crossing in Medyka to Przemysl, eastern Poland, Feb. 28, 2022.
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Refugees from Ukraine arrive at a temporary shelter on Feb. 28, 2022, near Korczowa, Poland.
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A large deployment of Russian ground forces containing hundreds of military vehicles are seen in convoy northeast of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 27, 2022. The convoy —which extends for more than 3.25 miles — contains fuel, logistics and armored vehicles moving towards Kyiv.
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A boy plays on a swing in front of a damaged residential block hit by an early morning missile strike on Feb. 25, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building damaged by a missile on Feb. 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2022.
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People gather in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
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People clean out damaged homes after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Children leave a damaged home after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
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A woman holds her baby as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, by bus on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.
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Inhabitants of Kyiv leave the city following pre-offensive missile strikes of the Russian armed forces and Belarus, Feb. 24, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels.
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Police and security personnel inspect gather by the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv on Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a “full-scale invasion” was underway.
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Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
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Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Firefighters work on a building caught on fire after the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv was bombed,, Feb. 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions.
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A man stands in front of a Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship that is seen in a field after a forced landing outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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A metallurgical plant is seen on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. The city is one of many attacked by Russian forces.
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Smoke rises from an air defense base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at a Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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People stand next to fragments of military equipment on the street in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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This photograph taken on Feb. 24, 2022, shows smoke rising near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport, in northwest Kyiv.
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Smoke and flame rise from the debris of a private house in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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