Ukraine's armed forces have confirmed the capital city of Kyiv is still under Ukrainian control four days after Russia launched an invasion in the country.
Colonel General Alexander Syrsky, Commander of Defense of Kyiv, confirmed the news in a statement released early today, February 28, following the start of a 'special military operation' on February 24.
Russian troops honed in on military targets and struck major cities with explosives, but as of yesterday they had failed to take control of any of Ukraine's biggest cities, namely Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Mariupol and Kherson.
In a statement cited by The Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainian General Staff said yesterday: 'Moving and taking small towns and automobile communications remain the occupying power’s foremost tactics. Thanks to massive civilian and military resistance, attempts the take the large cities have failed. The enemy’s main goal, which is to block Kyiv, remains unsuccessful.'
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Syrsky indicated the situation remained the same in Kyiv today in a post on Facebook which said 'all attempts to achieve the target by Russian-occupation troops have failed.'
The colonel general continued (translated): 'Columns of the occupant's technology have been destroyed. The opponent suffered significant losses of the personnel team. Russian troops are demoralised and exhausted. We showed that we can protect our home from uninvited guests.'
Syrsky's comments come after satellite images revealed a 3.25-mile long deployment of Russian forces advancing on Kyiv yesterday, The Guardian reports, though their advances proved futile as videos on social media showed images of destroyed armoured vehicles and dead soldiers.
Residents in Kyiv have been living this weekend under a curfew ordered by mayor Vitali Klitschko, which began at sundown on Saturday and was lifted this morning, after which locals queued to buy food and students were advised to board trains to travel to western parts of the country.
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Klitschko told the Associated Press yesterday that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child, and that it was important for residents to stay indoors while the Ukrainian military 'hunted' the Russian troops.
The mayor described the situation as being 'at the border of human catastrophe', adding: 'Right now, we have electricity, right now we have water and heating in our houses. But the infrastructure is destroyed to deliver the food and medication. That’s why the message for everyone is support Ukraine together... we are strong. Every Ukrainian is proud to be independent, proud to be Ukrainian, and we are proud to have our own country.'
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Topics: Ukraine, Russia, Politics, World News
