Ukraine defenders doing utmost not to allow enemy to approach Kyiv any closer

Brigadier General Oleksandr Hruzevych, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command, spoke about this at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Every day, our commander drives around the capital and the region, checking the state of our forces’ readiness. I can assure you that the enemy will not advance further. They will be stopped," Hruzevych said.

According to the military official, a grouping of troops has been set up to defend the city of Kyiv and Kyiv region. There are two rings of defense to stop the enemy.

"In some districts, namely Brovary and Boryspil, the enemy refrained from active offensive as such. There are small attempts at action on the left bank of the Dnipro River, but they’ve also been unsuccessful," said the brigadier general.

The military official added, that an effective air defense system is currently being built up. "In the last couple of days alone, two enemy warplanes, a helicopter, and more than six missiles have been shot down. But, unfortunately, when a missile crashes, the wreckage falls and destroys our homes and civilian infrastructure," he admitted.

According to Hruzevych, the Russians had intended to capture Kyiv in three days, but thanks to the skillful leadership and efforts on the part of the military, all law enforcement, and defense forces, these plans failed.

"Today, on the right bank of the Dnipro River, there is a strip of the outer ring, which is extended to 70 km. This makes it impossible for the enemy to fire at the city, except with missiles. There was some enemy advance on the left bank, but Ukrainian defenders have eliminated it. The enemy has switched to another tactic: cynically shooting infrastructure facilities, hiding behind the claim that they are allegedly targeting military infrastructure," added the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command.

He urged residents of cities and region not to ignore air raid alerts because shelters have a better chance of surviving enemy strikes. "We, the military, are calmer in performing our tasks when civilians are in shelters, in appropriate locations. Therefore, the alerts should not be neglected," he stressed.

As reported, Russian President Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24, launching a large-scale invasion. Russian troops have been shelling and bombarding infrastructure facilities, targeting residential areas of Ukrainian cities and towns in artillery, rocket, and missile fire.