Sat, February 26, 2022,
By Aleksandar Vasovic, Emin and Caliskan
KYIV (Reuters) - Soldiers picking through charred debris scattered near the smouldering remains of a truck and a few civilians taking fresh air before a curfew were among scarce signs of life in Ukraine's capital on Saturday, after a second night of artillery barrages.
Russian forces have been pounding the centuries-old capital Kyiv and other cities with cruise missiles and shells since the start of an invasion on Thursday morning.
Many shops were closed, including those selling food, and the streets were empty except for a odd car - a contrast to the columns of vehicles choking roads in recent days as tens of thousands of residents fled west - and a few pedestrians pulling suitcases.
"I was smart enough to stock food for at least a month, we have everything," said Serhiy, a middle aged man who said he started buying extra groceries for his family well before the violence broke out.
"I did not trust politicians that this would end peacefully," Serhiy said, taking a walk before a curfew that kicked in at 5:00 p.m.
Four heavily armed soldiers manned a checkpoint near a government building. Amid reports of Russian saboteur groups in the city, passengers in cars were required to keep their hands in the open and show identification papers without sudden moves, a Reuters team reported.
A missile hit a residential building and shelling and gunfire was heard early on Saturday across the city that is home to around 3 million people and was previously extensively damaged during a Nazi German assault in 1941.
Soldiers near a Kyiv train station inspected the still smoking remains of a truck that appeared to have been carrying ammunition and had scattered burnt shrapnel across a highway. Other soldiers dug trenches.
One elderly man inspected the twisted wooden frames of the windows of his house, the glass blown out. He said he was worried a nearby metro station would be targeted. Soldiers stopped residents from entering the metro system, which will now be used for shelter from the fighting rather than for transport.
MILITIAS
In addition to the regular soldiers, on the outskirts of the city, men armed with assault rifles and wearing yellow arm bands could be seen preparing to fight as Russian forces approached.
Some wore civilian clothes and carried hunting rifles, others apparently from neighbourhood militias and other reservist groups had camouflage outfits and professional equipment.
Further out of town, Ukrainians lined up at gasoline stations and bank ATMs, despite government-imposed limits on petrol sales and cash withdrawals.
In Koncha Zaspa, just south of Kyiv, people lined up to collect water from a public pump and to buy food in a local supermarket.
(Reporting by Aleksander Vasovic and Emin Caliskan; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Advice on how to fend off Russian army from urban warfare expert hits Twitter as battle for Ukraine’s capital Kyiv rages
Mark DeCambre -
KEY WORDS
‘You have the power but you have to fight smart.’ — John W. Spencer
That’s retired Major John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, who took to Twitter on Saturday to directly speak to Ukraine’s citizens as skirmishes for control of the capital Kyiv itensified. Main Russian forces advanced closer to the city Saturday night after earlier airstrikes were reported and civilians were taking up arms to defend the city against the potential for battalions of Russian troops.
“The urban defense is hell for any soldier. It usually take 5 attackers to 1 defender. Russians do not have the numbers. Turn Kyiv and any urban area leading to Kyiv into a porcupine,” wrote Spencer, who recommended that defenders of the city need to build thousands of obstacles in the streets, destroy bridges and create strongholds to attack the well-armed Russian military.
“If it is a street you still need to use. Build a S pattern obstacle that still slows a vehicle down,” he writes.
The advice from the tactical expert comes as amid the third day of the Ukrainian invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with the aim of overthrowing Ukraine’s elected government and ending its alignment with the West.
The Wall Street Journal and others were reporting that Ukrainian forces, backed by thousands of volunteers regained control of Kyiv’s streets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government, turned down the offer and has urged citizens to take up arms.
Zelensky said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelensky as upbeat. Zelensky, in a video address on the streets of Kyiv, urged citizens to keep fighting.
Some 18,000 rifles had been distributed to volunteers in the capital willing to fight, WSJ reported.
Also see: Zelensky records video in Kyiv street to reassure Ukrainians that he’s staying put amid Russian attack
‘It wasn’t Putin who invaded Ukraine’: How state media in Russia are depicting the continuing attack
Spencer’s recommendations were drawing attention on Twitter, with hedge-fund manager Pershing Square Capital’s Bill Ackman retweeting the military expert’s messages on urban tactics in Kyiv, using the hashtag #StandWithUkraine.
KEY WORDS
‘You have the power but you have to fight smart.’ — John W. Spencer
That’s retired Major John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, who took to Twitter on Saturday to directly speak to Ukraine’s citizens as skirmishes for control of the capital Kyiv itensified. Main Russian forces advanced closer to the city Saturday night after earlier airstrikes were reported and civilians were taking up arms to defend the city against the potential for battalions of Russian troops.
“The urban defense is hell for any soldier. It usually take 5 attackers to 1 defender. Russians do not have the numbers. Turn Kyiv and any urban area leading to Kyiv into a porcupine,” wrote Spencer, who recommended that defenders of the city need to build thousands of obstacles in the streets, destroy bridges and create strongholds to attack the well-armed Russian military.
“If it is a street you still need to use. Build a S pattern obstacle that still slows a vehicle down,” he writes.
The advice from the tactical expert comes as amid the third day of the Ukrainian invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with the aim of overthrowing Ukraine’s elected government and ending its alignment with the West.
The Wall Street Journal and others were reporting that Ukrainian forces, backed by thousands of volunteers regained control of Kyiv’s streets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government, turned down the offer and has urged citizens to take up arms.
Zelensky said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelensky as upbeat. Zelensky, in a video address on the streets of Kyiv, urged citizens to keep fighting.
Some 18,000 rifles had been distributed to volunteers in the capital willing to fight, WSJ reported.
Also see: Zelensky records video in Kyiv street to reassure Ukrainians that he’s staying put amid Russian attack
‘It wasn’t Putin who invaded Ukraine’: How state media in Russia are depicting the continuing attack
Spencer’s recommendations were drawing attention on Twitter, with hedge-fund manager Pershing Square Capital’s Bill Ackman retweeting the military expert’s messages on urban tactics in Kyiv, using the hashtag #StandWithUkraine.
‘We don’t know who to shoot, they all look like us’: Russian soldiers in Ukraine becoming disoriented, US official says
Bevan Hurley
Sat, February 26, 2022
Russian forces are reportedly becoming demoralised, disoriented and hungry on the third day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A senior United States official told ABC News that Russian soldiers had been overheard complaining that Ukrainian resistance was much stiffer than they had anticipated.
On one radio call, the official said they heard a soldier saying: “We don’t know who to shoot – they all look like us.”
A resident in the western city of Lviv told inews.co.uk that Russian soldiers “don’t know why they are on our land”.
Constantine Yevtushenko told the news site soldiers were hungry, were running low on supplies, and were confused about the purpose of their mission.
“They are just following the orders that they have,” Mr Yevtushenko said. “They are kids.”
Russian efforts to take the capital city of Kyiv have successfully been repelled for the past two nights by Ukrainian armed forces, although there were reports of an offensive being planned for Saturday night.
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Thousands of citizens have also taken up arms and been encouraged to make home-made molotov cocktails.
There have been reports of more than 1,000 Russian soldiers being killed, and several hundred more captured.
On Saturday Ukrainian officials said 198 citizens – including three children – had been killed since the invasion began.
Health minister Viktor Liashko said that 1,115 people were injured including 33 children.
Bevan Hurley
Sat, February 26, 2022
Russian forces are reportedly becoming demoralised, disoriented and hungry on the third day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A senior United States official told ABC News that Russian soldiers had been overheard complaining that Ukrainian resistance was much stiffer than they had anticipated.
On one radio call, the official said they heard a soldier saying: “We don’t know who to shoot – they all look like us.”
A resident in the western city of Lviv told inews.co.uk that Russian soldiers “don’t know why they are on our land”.
Constantine Yevtushenko told the news site soldiers were hungry, were running low on supplies, and were confused about the purpose of their mission.
“They are just following the orders that they have,” Mr Yevtushenko said. “They are kids.”
Russian efforts to take the capital city of Kyiv have successfully been repelled for the past two nights by Ukrainian armed forces, although there were reports of an offensive being planned for Saturday night.
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Thousands of citizens have also taken up arms and been encouraged to make home-made molotov cocktails.
There have been reports of more than 1,000 Russian soldiers being killed, and several hundred more captured.
On Saturday Ukrainian officials said 198 citizens – including three children – had been killed since the invasion began.
Health minister Viktor Liashko said that 1,115 people were injured including 33 children.
Fox News Reporter in Ukraine Posts Graphic Videos Following Fighting and Russian Missiles in Kyiv (Video)
Rosemary Rossi
Sat, February 26, 2022,
Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst was on the streets of Ukraine, documenting and sharing the graphic images on social media the morning after Russia’s insurgence into Kyiv.
As air raid sirens sounded in Ukraine’s capital late Friday night, Yingst panned his camera from safe inside his room to show no signs of life wandering the usually busy city below. When morning came, he took to the abandoned streets, showing the aftermath of the battle.
“Fierce fighting erupted between the Ukrainian army and Russian forces in the streets of Kyiv. This truck is riddled with bullet holes, and there’s blood on the sidewalk,” he said at the scene. “This morning, a Russian missile slammed into this building in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This gives you a sense of the destruction that these weapons can cause. Right now Ukraine is appealing to the international community to send air defense systems, as their country is under attack.”
The horrific footage – which he warned social media users was graphic – showed a bullet-ridden truck and blood on the brick street in several places surrounding it. Although no victims of the shooting are shown, the image nonetheless conveys the peril of the vehicle’s occupants.
As he wandered the “mostly empty” streets, Yingst noted the “long lines of civilians in Kyiv today waiting to pick up weapons” and that the few open grocery stores were “packed with people.”
Shortly thereafter, Yingst shared footage of the destruction, including a look at a residential building that was hit with a Russian missile that morning.
Ukrainian defense forces and civilian volunteers were able to slow the advance of more than 150,000 Russian troops invading the country. Russian troops have killed at least 198 people and wounded at least 1,115, according to the Ukrainian National Guard.
Rosemary Rossi
Sat, February 26, 2022,
Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst was on the streets of Ukraine, documenting and sharing the graphic images on social media the morning after Russia’s insurgence into Kyiv.
As air raid sirens sounded in Ukraine’s capital late Friday night, Yingst panned his camera from safe inside his room to show no signs of life wandering the usually busy city below. When morning came, he took to the abandoned streets, showing the aftermath of the battle.
“Fierce fighting erupted between the Ukrainian army and Russian forces in the streets of Kyiv. This truck is riddled with bullet holes, and there’s blood on the sidewalk,” he said at the scene. “This morning, a Russian missile slammed into this building in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This gives you a sense of the destruction that these weapons can cause. Right now Ukraine is appealing to the international community to send air defense systems, as their country is under attack.”
The horrific footage – which he warned social media users was graphic – showed a bullet-ridden truck and blood on the brick street in several places surrounding it. Although no victims of the shooting are shown, the image nonetheless conveys the peril of the vehicle’s occupants.
As he wandered the “mostly empty” streets, Yingst noted the “long lines of civilians in Kyiv today waiting to pick up weapons” and that the few open grocery stores were “packed with people.”
Shortly thereafter, Yingst shared footage of the destruction, including a look at a residential building that was hit with a Russian missile that morning.
Reporting on Fox News, Yingst said, “When we were at the site where that missile hit earlier today, as we walked through the debris, you could see photos of a family who lives in that apartment complex – their home completely destroyed. Another example of the most vulnerable population so often caught amid the crossfire, as is the case here in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian defense forces and civilian volunteers were able to slow the advance of more than 150,000 Russian troops invading the country. Russian troops have killed at least 198 people and wounded at least 1,115, according to the Ukrainian National Guard.
Russia moves weapons capable of inflicting mass casualties into position, claim intelligence official
Sat, February 26, 2022, 12:08 PM·4 min read
Russian forces attempting to storm Kyiv and other main cities are being reinforced after meeting fierce resistance with large numbers of troops and heavy weaponry capable of inflicting massive casualties, according to western intelligence analysts.
The Ukrainian capital is said to be the destination for two Russian armies – the 41st Combined Arms Army (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army – as part of an encirclement operation from three sides with a fourth one being considered.
Western officials have expressed deep concern that frustration at a long delay in capturing Kyiv may lead to Vladimir Putin ordering the use of weapons capable of causing huge loss of lives, including thermobaric missiles.
Among the weapons which have been seen to be moving towards the capital and other cities are TOS-1 thermobaric launchers, BM-21 122mm Grad, BM-21 220mm Uragan, and 300mm Smerch systems. All are area denial systems which are not used for precision strikes, but clearing stretches of ground.
In addition, intelligence officials have seen the appearance of the 27M Malka 203mm heavy self-propelled howitzer and 2S4 Tyulpan 240 mm heavy self-propelled mortars which can be used on large buildings.
The 41st CAA and the 1st Guards Tank Army have around 35,000 to 40,000 personnel with support. But smaller numbers are expected to be deployed fully into Ukraine.
The main routes to Kyiv being targeted by the Russian general staff, it is claimed, are from Belarus down to the west bank of the Dnieper river; from the Gomel down to the east back of the Dnieper, west of Chernihiv; and through Kursk, Borzna and Bovary. A fourth option would be the force now fighting in Kharkiv moving up to the east bank of the Dnieper.
Officials say that using the heavy option may take some time and the Russians are likely to persist with the current operational plan of taking Kyiv without inflicting huge numbers of deaths and injuries.
This map details the progress of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during Thursday and Friday (Press Association Images)
It is widely accepted, however, that Russian forces are behind their schedule in their projected rate of progress. Britain’s defence secretary Ben Wallace’s conclusion that they have failed to reach their military objective in the first few days is widely shared by Ukrainian and other international officials.
The Ukrainian-controlled territories in the Donbas, which President Putin said will be merged into the “Peoples Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, are yet to be captured. And, despite intense fighting, none of the main cities targeted by the Russians have fallen.
Russian forces have proved surprisingly vulnerable to air strikes despite having overwhelming superiority in the number and quality of warplanes and in missiles and cannons. The Ukrainians have been highly effective in the use of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones they have been acquiring, and have already used successfully against separatist forces in the Donbas. The state-backed Russian channel Sputnik highlighted the use of the drones, but claimed that most of them have been shot down.
There has also been surprise at weakness in the Russian communications and coordination systems. There are stories of lost Russian columns asking for directions to Kyiv. These may be exaggerated, but some American units also asked for directions to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion. In any event, Ukrainian authorities are removing road signs on the approaches to Kyiv in an attempt to disorientate the Russians.
Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn in a Kyiv street, on Saturday (AP)
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday that it had shot down a Russian transporter plane carrying soldiers. It said that a Ukrainian SU-27 fighter jet intercepted the Russian IL-76 MD aircraft as it was trying to land paratroopers in the Kyiv region. The IL-76 MD can carry up to almost 170 soldiers, as well as a crew of seven.
Ukrainian officials claim that over 3,500 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion began. Russia’s military spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov held that Moscow had suffered no casualties during the invasion.
Ukraine’s health minister Viktor Liashko stated that 198 Ukrainians have been killed in that time, and 1,115 people injured, including 33 children. The figures were not broken down between combatants and civilians. On Friday the president’s office stated that 40 soldiers have been killed.
Ukrainian servicemen captured by the Russians in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday (EPA)
After intense missile strikes, artillery barrages and gunfights in the outskirts of Kyiv during the night, Saturday was relatively quiet in the city. President Zelensky, who had turned down Joe Biden’s offer to fly him and his family to safety, declared that the Russians have sent “missiles, fighters, drones, artillery, armoured vehicles, saboteurs and airborne forces” against Ukraine, but “we are defending the country, the land of our future children.
“Kyiv and key cities around the capital are controlled by our army. The occupiers wanted to block the centre of our state and put their puppets here, as in Donetsk. We broke their plan."
Mr Zelensky also once again stated that the civilian population in Kyiv would be armed. On Saturday the Interior Ministry announced that “18,000 machine guns” will be handed to volunteers.
A curfew in the capital was extended from 10pm-8am to 5pm-8am by the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, who declared that violators would be considered “the enemy”. Armed groups of civilians have been setting up checkpoints in the streets during the course of the day, at times “arresting” suspects: another volatile mix in the combustible state of affairs in Ukraine.
Sat, February 26, 2022, 12:08 PM·4 min read
Russian forces attempting to storm Kyiv and other main cities are being reinforced after meeting fierce resistance with large numbers of troops and heavy weaponry capable of inflicting massive casualties, according to western intelligence analysts.
The Ukrainian capital is said to be the destination for two Russian armies – the 41st Combined Arms Army (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army – as part of an encirclement operation from three sides with a fourth one being considered.
Western officials have expressed deep concern that frustration at a long delay in capturing Kyiv may lead to Vladimir Putin ordering the use of weapons capable of causing huge loss of lives, including thermobaric missiles.
Among the weapons which have been seen to be moving towards the capital and other cities are TOS-1 thermobaric launchers, BM-21 122mm Grad, BM-21 220mm Uragan, and 300mm Smerch systems. All are area denial systems which are not used for precision strikes, but clearing stretches of ground.
In addition, intelligence officials have seen the appearance of the 27M Malka 203mm heavy self-propelled howitzer and 2S4 Tyulpan 240 mm heavy self-propelled mortars which can be used on large buildings.
The 41st CAA and the 1st Guards Tank Army have around 35,000 to 40,000 personnel with support. But smaller numbers are expected to be deployed fully into Ukraine.
The main routes to Kyiv being targeted by the Russian general staff, it is claimed, are from Belarus down to the west bank of the Dnieper river; from the Gomel down to the east back of the Dnieper, west of Chernihiv; and through Kursk, Borzna and Bovary. A fourth option would be the force now fighting in Kharkiv moving up to the east bank of the Dnieper.
Officials say that using the heavy option may take some time and the Russians are likely to persist with the current operational plan of taking Kyiv without inflicting huge numbers of deaths and injuries.
This map details the progress of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during Thursday and Friday (Press Association Images)
It is widely accepted, however, that Russian forces are behind their schedule in their projected rate of progress. Britain’s defence secretary Ben Wallace’s conclusion that they have failed to reach their military objective in the first few days is widely shared by Ukrainian and other international officials.
The Ukrainian-controlled territories in the Donbas, which President Putin said will be merged into the “Peoples Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, are yet to be captured. And, despite intense fighting, none of the main cities targeted by the Russians have fallen.
Russian forces have proved surprisingly vulnerable to air strikes despite having overwhelming superiority in the number and quality of warplanes and in missiles and cannons. The Ukrainians have been highly effective in the use of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones they have been acquiring, and have already used successfully against separatist forces in the Donbas. The state-backed Russian channel Sputnik highlighted the use of the drones, but claimed that most of them have been shot down.
There has also been surprise at weakness in the Russian communications and coordination systems. There are stories of lost Russian columns asking for directions to Kyiv. These may be exaggerated, but some American units also asked for directions to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion. In any event, Ukrainian authorities are removing road signs on the approaches to Kyiv in an attempt to disorientate the Russians.
Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn in a Kyiv street, on Saturday (AP)
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday that it had shot down a Russian transporter plane carrying soldiers. It said that a Ukrainian SU-27 fighter jet intercepted the Russian IL-76 MD aircraft as it was trying to land paratroopers in the Kyiv region. The IL-76 MD can carry up to almost 170 soldiers, as well as a crew of seven.
Ukrainian officials claim that over 3,500 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion began. Russia’s military spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov held that Moscow had suffered no casualties during the invasion.
Ukraine’s health minister Viktor Liashko stated that 198 Ukrainians have been killed in that time, and 1,115 people injured, including 33 children. The figures were not broken down between combatants and civilians. On Friday the president’s office stated that 40 soldiers have been killed.
Ukrainian servicemen captured by the Russians in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday (EPA)
After intense missile strikes, artillery barrages and gunfights in the outskirts of Kyiv during the night, Saturday was relatively quiet in the city. President Zelensky, who had turned down Joe Biden’s offer to fly him and his family to safety, declared that the Russians have sent “missiles, fighters, drones, artillery, armoured vehicles, saboteurs and airborne forces” against Ukraine, but “we are defending the country, the land of our future children.
“Kyiv and key cities around the capital are controlled by our army. The occupiers wanted to block the centre of our state and put their puppets here, as in Donetsk. We broke their plan."
Mr Zelensky also once again stated that the civilian population in Kyiv would be armed. On Saturday the Interior Ministry announced that “18,000 machine guns” will be handed to volunteers.
A curfew in the capital was extended from 10pm-8am to 5pm-8am by the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, who declared that violators would be considered “the enemy”. Armed groups of civilians have been setting up checkpoints in the streets during the course of the day, at times “arresting” suspects: another volatile mix in the combustible state of affairs in Ukraine.
