Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Russian army of targeting civilian areas in its attacks.

At the same time, in a video speech on Friday morning, the head of state praised the Ukrainians for their "heroism" in the face of the Russian advance.

Ukrainian armed forces "are doing everything they can" to defend the country, he assured.

Russia must "talk" with Ukraine "sooner or later" to end the fighting, he said.

"The sooner this talk starts, the smaller the losses for Russia itself will be," he added.

Zelenskyj also called on the Russian population to protest against the attack on Ukraine.

Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine on Thursday morning.

Rockets and artillery shells fell in several cities.

Within a few hours, Russian ground troops had then advanced to the greater Kiev area.

Airborne troops captured a military airport on the northwestern outskirts of Kiev.

"Russian missile attacks on Kiev"

Explosions were reported from the capital on Friday morning, and Ukrainian government officials spoke of Russian rocket attacks.

"Terrible Russian rocket attacks on Kiev," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Friday.

According to estimates by the United Nations, 100,000 people are already fleeing. 

On Friday night, Zelenskyi announced the general mobilization of all reservists and conscripts.

Because of Russia's "military aggression," reservists and conscripts from across the country would be called to arms within 90 days, the decree said.

According to him, 137 people were killed and hundreds injured, including numerous civilians, on the first day of the fighting.

Thousands of people took to the streets in numerous Russian cities on Thursday against the invasion.

According to activists, around 1,700 demonstrators were arrested.

Blinken: Russia wants to overthrow Zelenskyy

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to overthrow the Ukrainian government.

He is convinced that Putin will try to do this, Blinken said in an interview with the ABC TV station, referring to President Zelenskyy's government.

"We know that part of the Russian plan is to put Kiev at risk, to attack the capital and also to attack other major cities," Blinken said.

"We see troops coming from the north, from the east and from the south," he said.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price made a similar statement.

"President Zelenskyy embodies in many ways the democratic aspirations and aspirations of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told CNN.

Therefore, he remains a prime target for the Russians.

In this context, Price also pointed out that the US government had been warning for weeks that Russian saboteurs were already in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy himself also commented on possible Russian attack plans aimed at him personally: "According to our information, the enemy has declared me target number 1, my family target number 2," he said.

There are false reports that he left Kiev.

"I'm staying in the capital, staying with my people." But he's not allowed to say exactly where he's staying.

At a crisis summit in Brussels, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the other EU heads of state and government sought a strong response to the Russian attack.

They agreed on punitive measures with a view to energy, finance and transport.

In addition, there should be export controls for certain products and restrictions on issuing visas.

Selenskyj was connected to Brussels.

The United States is also moving 7,000 more soldiers to Europe, who will initially be stationed in Germany and are intended to strengthen the defense of NATO partners.