Russia-Ukraine War News LIVE Updates: Will Defend NATO Territory Even if it Means World War III, Says Biden; Moscow Encircling Kyiv from Three Sides

Read more

the remnants of the column to turn back.”

Reuters was unable immediately to verify the report and Russia offered no immediate comment. Moscow denies targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 and blames Ukraine for failed attempts to evacuate civilians from encircled cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier that Moscow was sending in new troops after Ukrainian forces put 31 of Russia’s battalion tactical groups out of action in what he called Russia’s largest army losses in decades. It was not possible to verify his statements.

He also said about 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed so far and urged the West to get more involved in peace negotiations. The president suggested Russian forces would face a fight to the death if they sought to enter the capital.

Meanwhile, a troop of Ukrainian soldiers are keeping up morale by firing a constant barrage of artillery at the Russians. Their shelling has so far stopped Moscow’s tanks entering Kyiv from the east. And they hope that the enemy forces, which have struggled to take large cities, will eventually get bogged down.

Wearing camouflage uniform and carrying a Kalashnikov, a soldier nicknamed Topaz watches the motorway running north from Kyiv’s eastern suburbs.

Russian forces advance ever closer to the capital from the north, west and northeast. Russian strikes also destroy an airport in the town of Vasylkiv, south of the city.

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says Kiev is already effectively “under siege” as the army and volunteers prepare to defend the city, street by street.

Read all minute-by-minute news updates for Uttar Pradesh election results 2022, Punjab election results 2022, Uttarakhand election results 2022, Manipur election results 2022, and Goa election results 2022.

Click here for seat-wise LIVE result updates.