The sounds of explosions resounded in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, to interrupt a short period of calm after a harsh night experienced by the residents of the capital, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected an American offer to help get out of Kiev.
Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that violent explosions took place this morning in the capital, and Reuters quoted eyewitnesses as confirming that they heard the sounds of shooting near government headquarters in central Kiev.
The Ukrainian military stated that Russian forces were firing Kalibr missiles at Ukraine through the Black Sea, and that the areas near Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol were subjected to air strikes.
The authorities asked Kiev residents to stay at home or go to shelters when the sirens sound.
In parallel, President Zelensky rejected a US offer to help get out of Kiev, and said in response, "The battle is here, I need ammunition, not a flight," according to a senior US intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation between the two parties, according to the Associated Press. (Associated Press).
Attack across multiple axes
During the past hours, Russian forces approached the Ukrainian capital from multiple axes, apparently in an encirclement movement, after a barrage of air strikes on cities and military bases across the country.
The Ukrainian forces said today, Saturday, that they repelled a night "attack" by Russian soldiers on their position on Victory Street, one of the main arteries in Kiev.
"The attack was repelled," the Ukrainian army's ground forces wrote on Facebook, without giving further details about the location of this confrontation.
The Ukrainian forces attached this message to a picture showing a large column of smoke rising in the middle of an urban area, at midnight, at a time when Kiev feared a major attack by the Russian army to seize the capital.
In a separate statement, the Ukrainian military confirmed that there were "violent battles" going on in Vasylkiv, about 30 kilometers southwest of Kiev;
Where the Russians are trying to "land paratroopers".
The Ukrainian army stated that Russian forces attacked a military base located on a main road in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev;
But his forces managed to repel the attack.
In a separate context, the Ukrainian "Interfax" agency reported that Russian soldiers were trying to seize one of the city's power plants.
Ukrainian President Zelensky warned earlier that tonight (the night past) Russian forces would try to take Kiev;
Where intense battles take place.
"I must say it quite frankly: Tonight will be more difficult than it was today. Many of the cities of our country are under attack," he said in a video message published on the presidential website.
"There is a special interest in Kiev. We cannot lose the capital," he added.
"I turn to our defenders, men and women on all fronts: Tonight the enemy will use all its forces to crush our defenses in the most despicable, cruel and inhuman way, tonight they will try to take" Kiev.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Kiev said that continuous clashes took place in several areas of the capital, not only on the northern axis, but the attacking Russian forces opened new fronts towards Kiev, including the eastern bank of the river, and through the Kasiliev axis;
It is a city belonging to Kiev, 36 km away.
He pointed out that there was another qualitative development in the attack on the capital, which was represented by the Russians using 3 reconnaissance planes, and a Russian warplane that flew in the sky of Kiev and was confronted by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces before leaving the airspace.