Street Fighting Begins in Kyiv; People Urged to Seek Shelter

Street Fighting Begins in Kyiv; People Urged to Seek Shelter
Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the morning of Feb. 26, 2022. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter. The country’s president refused an American offer to evacuate, insisting that he would stay. “The fight is here,” he said.

As dawn broke in Kyiv, it was not immediately clear how far the soldiers had advanced. Ukrainian officials reported some success in fending off assaults, but fighting persisted near the capital. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were probing Ukrainian defenses to clear a path for the main forces.