KYIV – February 27 (ONLINE): As Russian forces approach the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, NATO leaders are set to meet to set out a strategic response to Moscow’s invasion. Missiles have struck at the heart of the capital, as neighbouring countries brace for an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting.
Missiles pounded Ukraine’s capital on Friday as Russian forces continue their advance on Kyiv, with Ukrainian authorities saying they are preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government.
Air raid sirens have reportedly been sounding across the city of three million people, as residents’ shelter in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an all-out invasion of the country.
Ukrainian officials have reported that a Russian aircraft was shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people.
Sources say Russian forces are expected to enter areas just outside the capital later this Friday and that Ukrainian troops are defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered.
Kyiv city council has warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized by Russian paratroopers on Thursday, to stay indoors because of “the approach of active hostilities”.
Witnesses say loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, close to Russia’s border.
Authorities have also reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities, with dozens reported killed. Russian troops have also seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advance on the city from Belarus.
US officials believe Russia’s initial aim is to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and “decapitate” his government.
Zelenskiy said the troops were coming for him, but he would stay in Kyiv.
Speaking in a video message, the Ukrainian president said: “The enemy has marked me down as the number one target. My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.”
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in what is the biggest attack on a European state since World War II.
Putin claims Ukraine is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history.
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