Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after fighting a Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday morning. AFP
Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian military offensive in the capital, the military said on February 26 after a defiant President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his pro-Western country would not be bowed by Moscow.
“I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,” Zelensky said, as Russia said it had fired cruise missiles at Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
Wearing olive green military-style clothing and looking tired but determined, Zelensky said: “Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this.
“This is what I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine!”
It was the third day since Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale “military action” that has killed dozens of people, forced tens of thousands to flee Ukraine and sparked fears of a wider conflict in Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the world must brace for a long war.
“This crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences,” Macron said at an agriculture fair in France. “We must be prepared”.
A high-rise apartment block was hit by shelling overnight in Kyiv as the fighting raged, emergency services said.
The authorities said the number of victims was “being specified” and that an evacuation was underway.
They posted a picture online of the tower block with a hole covering at least five floors blasted into the side and rubble strewn across the street below.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said online that the building had been hit by a “projectile”.
In Kyiv’s city centre, AFP journalists heard loud explosions early on February 26.
“Heavy fighting continues,” the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine posted on its Telegram account.
Earlier on February 26, Ukraine’s military said Russia had “attacked one of the military units on Victory Avenue in Kyiv”, but that the assault had been “repulsed”.
It also reported another incident northwest of the capital.
AFP saw a dead man in civilian clothes lying sprawled on the pavement as nearby medics rushed to help another man whose car was crushed by an armoured vehicle.
Kyiv said 137 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said “two enemy targets were shot down” – identifying them as a Russian SU-25 helicopter and a military bomber – near the separatist zone in the east.
A Russian transport plane had also been “knocked down” near Vasylkiv, a town roughly 30km southwest of Kyiv, the ministry added on its official Facebook page.
Earlier, small arms fire and explosions were heard in the capital’s northern district Obolonsky as what appeared to be an advance party of Russian force left a trail of destruction.
Ukrainian forces reported fighting with Russian armoured units in two locations between 40-80km north of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian defence ministry said 2,800 Russian soldiers had been killed, without providing evidence.
Moscow has yet to report on casualties.
The US, Canada, Britain and the EU doled out further sanctions on Russia on February 25, including against Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
