According to the authorities, the intruders had only “light equipment”. The breakthrough came after a night of fierce fighting for Ukraine’s second largest city. A gas pipeline also exploded near Kharkiv. She is said to have been blown up by the Russian army.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov encouraged the soldiers shortly before the breakthrough became known. “The darkness will recede. Dawn is near,” he wrote on Facebook early Sunday morning. Resnikov spoke of “three days that changed our country and the world forever”. The Russians did not succeed in capturing Kiev as planned. “Instead I see a heroic army, a victorious guard, fearless frontier guards, dedicated rescuers, reliable police officers, tireless medical angels.”
Ukraine is now expecting help that seemed impossible three days ago, he said, referring to the arms deliveries announced on Saturday by several Western countries, including Germany. During the night, the army announced that there were Russian attacks “from all directions”, but that “resolute resistance” was being opposed.
“It’s quiet in the center of Kiev. It’s the quietest since that idiot declared war on Moscow,” wrote former ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba on Twitter early on Sunday. According to media reports, a refinery was hit by rockets and set on fire in the Wassylkowo suburb. The fire could be seen from Kiev hours later. Authorities urged residents to close their windows to protect themselves from toxic fumes. According to a television report, a radioactive waste storage facility in Kiev was also hit during the fighting. According to initial measurements, however, there was no threat to the population outside the protection zone.
According to unconfirmed reports, the Ukrainian army also eliminated a Chechen task force apparently sent into the country to liquidate the political leadership. The commander, General Magomed Tuschajew, was also killed in the process, as a prisoner later revealed, the newspaper “Ukrainska Pravda” reported. According to the online medium “Kyiv Independent”, the information has now also been confirmed by the Ukrainian Presidential Office. The commando is said to have been broken up at the contested Hostomel Airport in northern Kiev.
On the other hand, near Cherson in the south, Russian units succeeded in advancing after bitter fighting. Heavy fighting was also raging in the Luhansk region. There, the separatists reported that a Ukrainian missile had hit an oil terminal in the town of Rovenky. The information could not be independently verified.
The Ukrainian army called on the population to stop the Russian advance by any means, such as barricades made of trees and Molotov cocktails. The Ukrainian road administration also called for all street signs and place-name signs in the country to be removed in order to confuse the invaders.
Source: Nachrichten
