by Natalia Zinets and Maria Tsvetkova
KIEV (Reuters) – Kyiv came under missile fire again on Friday as Russian troops continued their advance towards the Ukrainian capital and local authorities prepared for an assault designed to overthrow them.
The day after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the inhabitants of Kiev continued to live to the sound of the howls of airborne warning sirens, forcing some of them to take refuge in stations underground subways, cellars or makeshift shelters.
The inhabitants who had not yet left the city were called upon to make Molotov cocktails to participate in the defense of the city.
“Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier,” urged the Ministry of Defense.
The city council of the city invited the inhabitants of the district of Obolon, neighbor of an air base which Russian paratroopers took control on Thursday, to stay at home because of their proximity to a combat zone “at the approach”.
According to a Ukrainian official, Russian forces are expected to reach some areas on the outskirts of Kyiv later today, despite the efforts of outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
Near Kiev’s main airport, a pre-dawn shell shattered the windows of a ten-storey apartment building, creating a two-meter diameter crater filled with rubble.
This shooting caused injuries but no deaths, according to a police officer.
EXODUS
According to Ukrainian officials, a Russian plane shot down overnight crashed into a building in Kiev, starting a fire and injuring eight people.
The clashes are not limited to the capital and according to witnesses, strong explosions sounded in Kharkiv, the second most populous city in Ukraine, located in the east of the country about fifty kilometers from the border with Russia.
Air-raid sirens sounded in the western city of Lviv, and authorities reported heavy fighting in the northeastern city of Sumy, also close to the Russian border .
Dozens of people may have been killed, according to available information, and tens of thousands of people have fled the country’s major cities, some seeking refuge in neighboring countries: Poland, Romania, Hungary or Slovakia.
With the general mobilization decreed Thursday in the country, men aged 18 to 60 can no longer leave Ukrainian territory and the convoys are mainly made up of women and children.
In their advance towards Kyiv from neighboring Belarus to the north, Russian troops took control of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant – located about 90 kilometers north of the capital – where Ukrainian authorities have noted an increase in levels of radiation.
For US officials, Russia’s goal is to overthrow Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and “decapitate” his government.
“TARGET”
Aware of being a priority “target”, Volodimir Zelensky promised Friday to stay in Kiev despite the advance of Russian troops.
“They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state,” he said in a video.
Despite the crackdown in Russia and the recurrent depiction of Ukraine as a threat by Russian official media, thousands of Russians took to the streets to denounce the offensive in Ukraine. Hundreds of protesters were arrested.
Some observers believe that Vladimir Putin is driven by the desire to reconstitute the Soviet empire, but the intentions of the head of the Kremlin remain obscure.
For the United Kingdom, the objective of Russia was to conquer the whole of Ukrainian territory and the Russian troops could not achieve it from the first day because they had not anticipated the resistance of the Ukrainians.
“Contrary to what they thought – and to President Putin’s vision that Ukrainians would be liberated and rally to his cause – he was completely wrong and the Russian army failed to achieve its objective, from the first day,” Defense Minister Ben Wallace said.
However, according to Volodimir Zelensky, the continuation of the fighting on Friday demonstrates that Western sanctions against Moscow remain insufficient.
The United States, the European Union and Great Britain, in particular, unveiled new sanctions against Russia on Thursday after the launch of this additional offensive, which came after weeks of tension and Vladimir Putin’s recognition of two separatist regions. pro-Russians from eastern Ukraine.
A European official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that a third round of sanctions was in preparation at European Union level.
The Kremlin said Friday that the sanctions announced the day before by Western powers would not pose insurmountable problems for Russia.
(Reporting Natalia Zinets in Kiev, Aleksandar Vasovic in Mariupol and Reuters offices, written by Stephen Coates and Peter Graff, French version Myriam Rivet, editing by Bertrand Boucey)