Ukraine’s army is trying to repel a full-scale Russian invasion, with fierce battles taking place close to the capital Kyiv. Fighting is raging at an airfield on the outskirts of the city, and it could become a springboard for the Russian army into Kyiv if its troops seize it.
The Russian assault is being fought on several fronts after it attacked from the east, north and south on Thursday. Kyiv has been hit by blasts, and at least one block of flats was damaged. There are also reports of gunfire inside the city and on its northern outskirts, amid Ukrainian government warnings that “saboteurs” may already be operating inside the city.
Footage circulating on social media on Friday appears to show tanks driving down streets in the northern Obolon district. The Ministry of Defence has appealed to the district’s residents to “inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails [firebombs] and neutralise the enemy” on its Facebook page.
Overnight, families took shelter in Kyiv’s metro stations as aerial attacks struck the city, including the densely-populated Pozniake area, injuring at least eight.
