Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders who are advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two.
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities.
Dozens have been reported killed.U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government. Russia on Thursday seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv, along the shortest route to the capital from Belarus, where Moscow has staged troops.
Putin says Russia is carrying out “a special military operation” to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to “genocide” in Ukraine – an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda.
Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy’s safety, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: “To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course we’re concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine – government officials and others.”
Putin denied for months that he was planning an invasion, even as the United States warned an attack was looming and shared satellite images of Russian forces massing on Ukraine’s borders.
The United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union unveiled more sanctions on Moscow on top of penalties earlier this week, including a move by Germany to halt an $11 billion gas pipeline from Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Fox News that “to succeed, again, we need sanctions, (the) toughest sanctions possible.”
China, which had been expected to back Russia diplomatically over Ukraine, has declined to call Moscow’s assault an invasion and instead urged all sides to exercise restraint