Ukrainian forces are putting up “very determined resistance” to Russia’s invasion, a U.S. defense official said on Saturday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy struck a defiant tone on the streets of the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces continued to pound Kyiv and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles in a campaign that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards towards the European Union, clogging major highways and railway lines.
Ukrainian forces are putting up “very determined resistance” to Russia’s invasion, a U.S. defense official said on Saturday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy struck a defiant tone on the streets of the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces continued to pound Kyiv and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles in a campaign that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing westwards towards the European Union, clogging major highways and railway lines.
Medvedev said new sanctions on Russia were a sign of the West’s impotence in the conflict and he hinted at a severing of diplomatic ties, saying it was time to “padlock the embassies”.
The United States has observed more than 250 launches of Russian missiles, mostly short-range, at Ukrainian targets, the U.S. defense official said.
“We know that (Russian forces) have not made the progress that they wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” the official said, without providing evidence.
The Kremlin said Putin had ordered troops to stop advancing on Friday but they were moving forwards again on Saturday after Kyiv refused to negotiate.
An adviser to Zelenskiy denied that Kyiv had refused negotiations but said Russia had attached unacceptable conditions. He also said it was untrue that Russia had paused troop movements on Friday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has fostered good ties with Russia and Ukraine, told Zelenskiy by phone on Saturday that Ankara was making efforts for an immediate ceasefire.
