Russian assaults on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have been met with fierce resistance as the Ukrainian military says it fought off several attacks.
The military said in a Facebook post early on Saturday that an army unit managed to repel Russian forces near its base on a major city street.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The occupiers wanted to block the centre of our state… We broke their plan.”
Meanwhile, fighting continues near several other Ukrainian cities.
A total of 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed since Russia invaded, said the country’s Health Minister, Viktor Lyashko.
According to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, a curfew will start in Kyiv at 17:00 (15:00 GMT) on Saturday and last until 08:00 on Monday.
In an address, Mr Zelensky said: “We are defending the country, the land of our future children. Kyiv and key cities around the capital are controlled by our army.
“The occupiers wanted to block the centre of our state and put their puppets here, as in Donetsk. We broke their plan.”
In a self-shot video, Mr Zelensky was earlier seen walking around Kyiv’s government district in an apparent effort to dispel rumours he had called on the army to surrender to Russian troops.
“I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state,” he said.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said a missile had hit a block of flats in the city, posting a picture on Facebook showing at least four apartments destroyed.
He added on Telegram that 35 people, including two children, had been wounded as of 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT).
“There are no Russian troops in the city,” he claimed, adding that people should stay in shelters as more air attacks were expected.
(BBC)
