Several explosions have rocked the Ukrainian capital, Kyivin the early hours of this Saturday, and clashes are taking place in the area of Beresteiskajust nine kilometers from the well-known Maidán square, and in a thermal power plant in Troieschynaat the other end of the city.
As reported by the newspaper ‘The Kiev Independent’, there have been about 50 explosions and machine gun fire near the city’s zoo, as well as in the Beresteiska metro area, located below the intersection of Peremohy Avenue.
At around 04.08 hours (local time), there would have been an attack on a Ukrainian military unit on this avenue, which has been rejected, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on Facebook and as confirmed by the Ukrainian news agency Unian.
Specifically, the Ukrainian 101 Brigade has destroyed at least two cars, two tank trucks and a tank, as highlighted on Facebook by the Ukrainian Ground Forces. In another message, they would have reported air strikes in different parts of the country, such as Sumy, Poltava or Mariupol.
“The enemy repeatedly used operational tactical aviation in the southern and Odessa zones, at the Ozerne airport and on civilian infrastructure objects in the Kiev region. In the direction of Slobozhansky, the operational group of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stopped the opponent’s attack and continues the fight in the Kharkov region”, he stressed.
“He continues to engage in systematic combat. (It is necessary) to inflict fire damage on the accumulation of enemy manpower and military equipment in the Kiev, Chernigov and Kherson regions”, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine highlighted in its report.
On this third day of clashes, the Ukrainian Ground Forces have estimated the number of Russian troops killed on Ukrainian territory at more than 3,500 and have claimed to have captured almost 200 prisoners, figures that contrast with those provided by the Russian authorities.
In addition, they have indicated that they have destroyed 14 planes, 8 helicopters, 102 tanks, 536 armored cars, 15 artillery systems and a ‘Buk’ missile system.
The latest report by Russia – on Friday afternoon – highlights the deactivation of 211 military infrastructure facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the shooting down of six combat aircraft, a helicopter and five unmanned aerial vehicles, in addition to the destruction of 67 tanks and other armored vehicles, 16 multiple rocket launchers and 87 units of special military vehicles, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense on Facebook.
Russian troops are reportedly trying to take control of the military airport in Vasilkov. This has been confirmed by its mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, who has said that several soldiers have died in intense fighting, according to the DPA news agency.
In addition, the aforementioned newspaper has reported that at least 60 Russian saboteurs have been killed in Kiev, according to the adviser to the Minister of the Interior, Viktor Andrusiv, and there have also been clashes at a thermal power plant in Troieshchyna, the northern area of the margin left of Kiev.
This same information has also been confirmed by the American network CNN, which has indicated that the State Service of Special Communications of Ukraine has confirmed clashes on Friday night in a suburb in the east of the capital, Kiev, near Troieschyna.
“We are holding back the horde as much as we can. The situation is under the control of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the citizens of Kiev,” said the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, according to the Ukrainian agency Ukrinform.
