Ukraine’s military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Friday that the country’s army was successfully resisting Russian forces advancing from the north.
Zaluzhnyi said Ukrainian forces had been able to repel the breakthrough of Russian troops in the Chernihiv area north of the capital, Kyiv.
“Enemy vehicles were forced to retreat from Chernihiv in the direction of Sedniv and from Horodnya to Semenivka,” he said.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry also said airborne assault troops blew up a bridge over the Teteriv River at Ivankiv, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kyiv, successfully preventing a Russian column of forces from advancing towards the capital.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Russian reconnaissance troops have entered Obolon, which is just a few miles from the city center.
The ministry in a tweet asked citizens of the district to report any suspicious movements and adds: “Make Molotov cocktails and take down the occupier.”
CNN reported a group of Ukrainian security forces left the city police headquarters with weapons and ammunition — apparently heading towards Obolon, where fighting has been reported.
However, it appears Russian forces are consolidating their positions to the northwest of Kyiv after taking the airbase at Hostomel on Thursday.
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Anna Malyar, tweeted Friday about a “possible invasion of the occupiers in Vorzel and surrounding settlements,” which is about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Kyiv.
Malyar added that Russian troops had seized two Ukrainian army vehicles, had put on Ukrainian army uniforms and were trying to advance on Kyiv.