Attack on Ukraine: First Russian units in Kiev

According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the first Russian units advanced into the capital Kiev. Gunshots were heard near the government headquarters.

According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the first Russian units advanced into the capital Kiev. Russian “saboteurs” were staying in the Obolon district in northern Kiev, the agency said on Facebook. Shots were heard near the government headquarters, according to the AP news agency. Such information cannot currently be independently verified.

The Russian military is blockading Kiev in the west, reports the Russian news agency TASS, citing the Moscow Defense Ministry. Residential areas of the city should therefore not be shot at. As several agencies report, Russia has gained control of an airfield near Kiev. Paratroopers landed there.

Military spokesman: Kiev is preparing for defense

According to their own statements, the Ukrainian military is fighting against Russian troops in the greater Kiev area. Referring to two places in the northwest of the capital, military spokesman Oleksiy Arestovych told journalists: “There are already fights there.” Kiev itself is preparing for defense. The Ukrainian army destroyed “some” Russian helicopters and military equipment. Russian spies and saboteurs have been spotted less than five kilometers from the capital. The military said Russian troops had hijacked Ukrainian military vehicles and were headed to Kiev, where they attempted to pose as locals.

Videos show how a number of people in Kiev took themselves to subway stations to safety. Police in Kiev urged people not to leave a metro station in the city center after gunfire rang out in the area. Elsewhere in the capital, soldiers took up defensive positions on bridges and armored vehicles rolled through the streets. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kiev could be under siege.

The Ukrainian ministry called on the population to prepare so-called Molotov cocktails for battle and to report sightings of Russian military technology. Residents should not leave their homes. The Ukrainian army warned that Russian units were using partially conquered Ukrainian technology. A correspondent for the dpa news agency reported that patrols armed with assault rifles were on the move in the city center. Streets and squares were empty.

According to Ukraine, Russian troops are advancing on Kiev from the north-east and east. Russian units were pushed back by government troops in the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kiev, the Ukrainian army said. Therefore, after conquering the town of Konotop further east, the Russian army is now trying to advance towards Kiev from there.

Rocket fire on Kiev at night

Ukraine had previously reported rocket fire on the capital Kiev. Among other things, a multi-storey residential building was hit, as the city administration announced. “Terrible Russian rocket attacks on Kiev,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. Ukrainian forces shot down a plane, wrote an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister. It is still unclear whether the aircraft was manned.

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia resumed rocket attacks at 04:00 local time. Both civilian and military targets would be shot at, he said in a televised speech. The advance of the Russian troops had been stopped in most places.

According to Russian media reports, Russia has denied firing rockets at Kiev. Russian news agencies cite a representative of the Defense Ministry. He also said that the fighter jet shot down over Kiev was a Ukrainian military aircraft that had been hit by its own side.

The Ukrainian military also reported heavy fighting in Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers northwest of Kiev. A bridge over a river was destroyed. Some tanks were set on fire with rockets. “Today will be the hardest day,” Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko told Telegram.

Selenskyj accuses Russia of attacks on civilian places

The Ukrainian President accused the Russian army of also targeting civilian areas in its attacks. At the same time, in a video speech, Zelenskyy praised the Ukrainians for their “heroism” in the face of the Russian advance. According to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, Russia has hit 33 civilian targets in the past 24 hours. Two children were killed.

The Ukrainian armed forces are “doing everything they can” to defend the country, Zelenskyy assured. Russia must sooner or later talk to Ukraine to end the fighting, he said. “The sooner this talk starts, the smaller the losses for Russia itself will be,” he added. Zelenskyj also called on the Russian population to protest against the attack on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy suspected that the Russian attack was intended to overthrow him. “According to our information, the enemy has declared me target number one, my family target number two,” he said – an assessment shared by the US government. However, he announced that he wanted to stay in Kiev.

Battles also in other parts of the country

Fighting was also reported from other parts of the country. In the Zaporizhia region in the south, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also reported Russian rocket fire. The attack on a border guard unit killed and injured. According to media reports, Russian troops also attacked the airport in the western city of Rivne. Fighting was also reported from Sumy in the northeast of the country near the Russian border. This information could not be independently verified.

According to Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, Russia destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in its attacks. Paratroopers would be brought to Chernobyl to guard the nuclear power plant there. Such statements cannot be verified independently. Konashenkov also said that separatist fighters from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk have now advanced nine kilometers into an area previously controlled by Ukrainian government troops.

According to the Defense Ministry, Russian troops captured an island off the Ukrainian port of Odessa. The 13 Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island in the Black Sea were killed by fire from a Russian warship. 82 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered.

Moscow: Russian troops capture North Crimean Canal

According to Moscow, Russian troops took control of a key waterway on the annexed Crimean Peninsula. The army announced that Russian units had advanced as far as the city of Cherson. This would end the blockade of the North Crimean Canal and restore Crimea’s water supply.

Ukrainian authorities had cut off water supplies through the North Crimea Canal, which supplied 85 percent of Crimea’s water needs, after Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014. Since then there has been an acute water shortage in Crimea, especially during the summer drought periods. This also had an impact on agriculture on the peninsula. According to Crimean governor Sergey Aksyonov, the canal could be operational again within 48 hours after being taken over by the Russian army.

“Russian army fails to achieve any of its goals”

According to the British government, Russia has not progressed as quickly as planned in attacking Ukraine. “Our assessment this morning is that Russia has not achieved any of its key objectives and is behind schedule,” Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace told Sky News.

The conservative politician said the Russian troops had lost 450 forces. This number could not initially be verified independently. One of the “significant airports” was not taken over either, but was recaptured by the Ukrainians, Wallace said. The Russian army failed to achieve its goals on the first day of the war.

Apparently many casualties on both sides

President Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian army lost 137 soldiers and 316 soldiers were injured on the first day of the Russian invasion. Russia attacked the entire territory of Ukraine.

Russian troops also suffered heavy casualties, according to Ukrainian sources. The Ministry of Defense in Kiev spoke of 30 destroyed Russian tanks, 130 armored vehicles, seven airplanes and six helicopters. About 800 Russian soldiers were killed. The information could not be independently verified. The Russian side did not comment on this.