Ukrainian forces struggle to hold Kyiv from Russian invasion - Los Angeles Times
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Russians “have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” a senior U.S. Defense Department official said on Saturday. The official added that, while Ukraine’s air- and missile-defense systems had been targeted, they remained viable, and that there was no indication Russia had taken control of any Ukrainian cities in what is Europe’s biggest ground war since World War II.
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... Japan and Australia are among those that have imposed sanctions. On Saturday, Germany — widely mocked for an earlier offer to donate 5,000 helmets to Ukraine defenses — said it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons, 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles and 10,000 tons of fuel.
Also on Saturday, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said they would close their airspace to Russian airliners. In a tweet, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, “there is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies.”
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Saturday began as a beautiful, sunny day, the sort that would normally bring out crowds in force to enjoy Kyiv’s many sights.
Gatherings in front of gas stations, pharmacies and supermarkets became more sparse as the day wore on, and nighttime brought a deeper-hued darkness. The occasional car still zoomed past traffic lights; but now those lights flashed only yellow, an acknowledgment by the Kyiv municipality that no one had time to wait on red.
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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko imposed a strict citywide curfew that would extend from 5 p.m. local time until 8 a.m. Monday morning. Klitschko said he was taking the step to counter the efforts of Russian infiltrators suspected to be already in the city.
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Between Friday and Saturday, Ukrainian forces deliberately destroyed some of Kyiv’s many bridges as a defensive tactic aimed at slowing down the incoming forces. Those that remain standing are carefully guarded, like the Perchesky Bridge, where nervous but dour-faced soldiers popped trunks open and questioned motorists.
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On Lobanovsky Avenue, the war’s impact was starkly evident where a shell had slammed into an apartment block about 8 a.m. Saturday, obliterating a chunk of the building between the 16th and 21st floors and wounding six people, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Rescuers agency said. Glass, hunks of cement and personal belongings from the destroyed units carpeted the boulevard below.
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It was the latest in the tally of civilian targets hit by Russian forces, despite Moscow’s insistence that its troops have
aimed their massive firepower only at military installations.
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Nearly 200 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded since the offensive began, Ukraine’s health minister said Saturday. A senior American defense official told reporters Saturday that Russia has launched more than 250 missile attacks. Most have been short-range ballistic missiles. Russia has not issued any casualty figures.
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Meanwhile, it was clear to Ukrainians that the actual fight — and the blood to be shed defending their homeland — is theirs alone.
“America isn’t here. The European Union isn’t here,” said Alexander, a 24-year-old hotel employee in Kharkiv who declined to give his last name. “So we’re fighting on our own.”
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️After 3 days of Russia's war, the fighting is where it began, the Russian army has not been able to advance, but is attacking Kyiv.