Ukrainian army resists Russian attacks on Kyiv
February 26, 2022, 7:59 am

Ukrainian army resists Russian attacks on Kyiv

Russian invasion of Ukraine (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

The BBC reported, Russian assaults on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have been met with fierce resistance, as the Ukrainian military says it has 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.

In a new video, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "We won't lay down our arms. We will defend our state."

The BBC said, the city government confirmed ongoing fighting and urged people to stay home.

According to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, city officials put out a statement asking people to stay in shelters and to stay away from windows if they were at home.

But Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov told Ukrainian news site Lb.ua that the army was "in control" of the situation.

Mr Danilov said: "We are stopping the horde using all means available. The army servicemen and citizens are in control of Kyiv."

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Posted by Володимир Зеленський on Friday, February 25, 2022

In his self-shot video, Mr Zelensky could be seen walking around Kyiv's government district in an apparent effort to combat rumours he had called on the army to surrender to Russian troops.

"There's a lot of fake information online that I'm calling on our army to lay down arms, and that there's evacuation," he said against a backdrop of Kyiv's Gorodetsky House.

"I'm here. We won't lay down our arms. We will defend our state."

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Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine's air force command also reported heavy fighting near the Vasylkiv air base, southwest of Kyiv, adding that it was under attack by Russian paratroopers.

Separately it claimed one of its fighters had shot down a Russian transport plane. The BBC said that it was unable to verify this.

Source: BBC

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.