Ukraine war: “I’m here” – Zelenskyj reports in a video from Kiev

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj reports in a new video from the capital Kiev and declares war on Russia. He wishes “everybody a good morning,” says the head of state, who appears bleary-eyed, with a smile on the street in Kiev. He wants to refute circulating fake news that he has left the country.

I’m here, we don’t lay down arms. We will defend our country because our guns are our truth. Our truth is that this is our country, our state, our children. And we will protect it all. Glory to Ukraine!

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously called on the Ukrainian army to lay down their arms. That is not apparent.https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1497450853380280320

According to the Ukrainian army, it has repelled an attack by Russian forces on one of its positions in Kiev. The night attack was aimed at a post on Kiev’s Victory Road, the Ukrainian land forces said on their Facebook page. The Victory Street is a main artery of the capital. The army did not provide any further information on the location of the battles. Loud explosions could be heard in central Kiev early in the morning, an AFP journalist reports.
In another statement, the army says “heavy fighting” is ongoing in the town of Vasylkiv, south of Kiev. Russia is trying to “land paratroopers” there. The military also announced the shooting down of a Russian helicopter and a SU-25 fighter jet around midnight, and the destruction of an IL-76 military transport plane. This information has not yet been confirmed.

Hungary offers itself as a host for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Budapest “can serve as a safe place for the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating delegation,” says Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in a video. He has therefore already spoken to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Andriy Yermak. “Both didn’t refuse, both were grateful and are thinking about it,” said Szijjarto. “I sincerely hope that within hours or days there will be an agreement to start talks.”
Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary, a member of NATO and the EU, has close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin. However, Orban condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Shots and fights are reported from the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Russian troops attempted to attack thermal power station No. 6, a communications agency said. The Ukrainian army is defending itself. The power plant is located in the extreme north-east of the megacity on the right bank of the Dnipro River. There have also been reports of explosions and automatic weapon fire from other locations on the right bank.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian troops wanted to attempt an assault on the capital during the night. He called on residents to defend the city. Russian troops are advancing on Kiev from the north-west and north-east. According to the information, there was heavy fighting near the town of Wassylkiv, about 40 kilometers south of Kiev. There is an airbase there that Russian troops apparently wanted to take over with paratroopers.

The tactics used by the Russian armed forces so far have puzzled Western intelligence services. The number of soldiers deployed in the invasion of Ukraine has so far been significantly lower than expected, said a senior representative in Brussels. The reasons are completely unclear. The secret service official did not want to say how many Russian forces the services estimate are currently in Ukraine. According to the information, however, it is only a fraction of the more than 150,000 soldiers that Russia had gathered at the country’s borders before the attack on Ukraine.

The secret service representative was very critical of the number of victims communicated so far by both sides. “I think the numbers are very low,” he said of Friday night’s information that Ukraine has lost around 140 soldiers and Russia around 450 so far. “My feeling is that there are likely to be many more casualties.”

Twitter is blocking ads in warring countries Russia and Ukraine until further notice. In this way, one wants to ensure that important information on public safety in the two states is highlighted, the group said on its news service. Advertising would distract from such information.

Ukraine has requested additional support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in view of the Russian invasion. In addition to the current $2.2 billion aid program, Kiev has applied for further emergency aid, said IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF will “support Ukraine in any way we can.”

Good morning on day three of the war in Ukraine. Again today we will keep you updated on all important events regarding the Russian invasion of the neighboring country in our live blog.

The Russian war of aggression is now about control of Kiev. The Ukrainian army said early in the morning that it had repelled an attack by Russian forces on an important position in the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned of a major attack by Russian forces on Kiev. Fighting is also going on in many other parts of the country, and tens of thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing the violence to neighboring countries.