Two large explosions lit up the skies over the Ukrainian capital, Kiev in the early hours of Sunday. The explosion appeared to have occurred in the vicinity of Vasylkiv, which has a large military airfield and several fuel tanks and is about 30 kilometers south of Kyiv.
Explosions have been going on since Saturday night in the strategic maritime city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine as gunfire rages around its outskirts. The sound of small arms fire and the impact of several rockets punctuated the night after days of heightened tension in the city.
Explosion after explosion occurred after Ukrainian armed forces took control of the capital for the third day of the Russian invasion that sent fighting to continue across the country, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told citizens to continue to defend his country to the last drop of blood.
While unconfirmed reports are of the landing of Russian paratroopers in the northern region of the city, a bridge was raised for the first time in years as Ukraine attempts to cut off the main link between the north and south of the city which lies at the entrance of the Black Sea.
Ukraine's prime minister announced the country was closing its borders with Russia and Belarus from Monday, and only Ukrainian nationals could cross into Ukraine from the two countries.
A senior US defense official warned on Saturday that more than half of Russian President Vladimir Putin's combined force was now exercised inside Ukraine.
"Heavy fighting is ongoing in the northern city of Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border, while resistance is waning in the south," a US official said.
In Vasilkiv, a town about 35 kilometers south of Kyiv, the mayor said early Saturday that heavy fighting was taking place in the center of the city.
Vasilkiv mayor Natalia Balasynovich said there were losses on the Ukrainian side with many injured, in the 200s, he told the Ukrainian parliament channel Saturday.
Previously reported, the Russian military attack through missile fire targeting an apartment building in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Saturday local time. The targeted area is close to Zhuliany Airport. Several floors looked ravaged by the missile impact.
Al Jazeera journalist Andrew Simmons from Kiev reported that the apartment building hit by the Russian missile was one of the many that were attacked.
"The level of violence that is descending from the sky through the streets of this city, is reaching its highest level. And, the voices are rising, the fear is excessive. As the clock ticks on at its next stage, this Russian invasion is an attempt to seize the capital Kiev," said Simmons. quoted from Al Jazeera, Saturday, February 26, 2022.
The Russian military said it was targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure using cruise missiles. These missiles are fired from the air and sea.
Mayor Klitschko urged Kiev residents who are in apartments to move to shelters for safety. Because, Russian troops are predicted to be aggressively attacking from the air.
