Ukrainians desperately tried to hold off the Russian invasion in the early hours of Saturday, at the end of a long night that saw Vladimir PutinRussia’s forces are advancing from the north, south and west.
Ukraine’s armed forces wrote on Twitter when it dawned on Saturday: “During the night, the Russian occupiers did not take any city!
“Kiev is clearing itself of the remains of saboteurs. Thanks to the brave defenders of Ukraine! ‘
Ukrainians came out of their bunkers after a restless night to find a country still challenging, despite the barbarism unleashed by Moscow.
The night began with Ukrainians who are still in the cities seeking refuge in the subway for the third night in a row.
When it got dark at 5:30 pm local time on Friday, the streets were eerily empty and quiet.
The empty streets of Kiev were filmed on Friday night, while nervous residents await the expected attack
Residents of Kiev took refuge in a bomb shelter in the early hours of Saturday
Locals in Kiev endured a horrific and sleepless night on Friday as the bombing began at around 3am on Saturday
MIDNIGHT
The President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky appeared on social networks shortly after midnight, warning his people that the next hours will be decisive.
In an exciting speech from his bunker in a secret location in Kiev, the 44-year-old Zelensky said “Ukraine’s fate is now being decided.”
He told his men: “Tonight the enemy will use all available forces to break our resistance – insidious, vicious, inhuman.
“They will attack us tonight.” We all need to understand what we are going to face. We have to endure tonight.
It later emerged that the United States had again offered Zelensky and his family – his wife Oleana and daughter Alexandra, 17, and his nine-year-old son Kirill – the opportunity to be evacuated from Ukraine.
Zelensky refused. On Thursday night, he insisted on staying in place, and indeed went out to Kiev on Friday morning to make a short video of the nation, calling for sustainability.
Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, was seen addressing the nation on Friday night
3 a.m., SATURDAY
The first sign that Putin was indeed launching his attack came from Vasilkov, 20 miles south of the capital.
The city, home to a Cold War air base, was the scene of the first major incident when a Russian Il-76 military transport plane was shot down, with 150 paratroopers on board.
At the time, sources in the city claimed that Russian soldiers dressed as Ukrainian policemen had ambushed a checkpoint.
Heavy fighting broke out in Vasilkov as Putin’s forces tried to fortify the south from where to launch their attack on Kiev.
Kiev was on fire in the early hours of Saturday
4 a.m., SATURDAY
A second Russian IL-76 was shot down south of Kiev, in the city of Belaya Tserkov, according to reports.
In the eastern part of the country, Ukraine’s air defense shot down a Su-25 fighter and a helicopter, according to the Ukrainian military.
And while the aggressors were trying to advance from the south, a new attack was being attempted from the north, even closer to the center of Kiev.
5 a.m., SATURDAY
Russian troops have launched an attack on the northern Kiev suburb of Troyeschina, the site of a thermal power plant.
The suburb was attacked earlier in the week as Russia tried to wrest control of strategic jewel on the banks of the Dnieper River.
Unconfirmed reports suggest dozens of Russians have been arrested.
Meanwhile, the Russians were also advancing from the west.
Dramatic footage showed explosions near the Beresteiska metro station, near the outskirts of the city.
Locals living on Victory Avenue – the main artery to the center of Kiev from the west – shared photos on social networks of burning vehicles.
It is alleged that Russian forces are advancing on the zoo in Kiev, in the Shulyavka district of the city.
Fighting was fierce, but Ukraine’s interior ministry said it had repulsed the attack by blowing up a bridge on Victory Avenue to stop advancing Russian forces.
Significant explosions were observed from the Beresteiska metro station in western Kiev
Smoke and flames can be seen rising over Peremohy Boulevard in Kiev in the western part of the city, near the zoo, in the early hours of Saturday morning
7:30 AM SATURDAY
The Ukrainian army claims that the Russians suffered heavy losses with 3,500 killed and 200 captured.
They said Russia had lost 14 planes and 8 helicopters, plus 102 tanks and 536 armored vehicles.
8 AM, SATURDAY
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine warned people to stay indoors, saying that active battles are being fought on the streets of Kiev.
Shortly afterwards, Zelensky posted a video on social media, walking the streets of Kiev, with the caption: “Do not believe in fakes.”
The Ukrainian armed forces tweeted in the early hours of Saturday that the attack from the west, near the city zoo, had been suppressed, saying: “Russian war criminals attacked one of the military units in Kiev on Victory Avenue. Attack repelled “