Putin calls on Ukrainian military to end resistance and turn on their leaders

Agencies | Moscow

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian military to end resistance and turn on their leaders.

Speaking at Friday’s Security Council meeting, Putin claimed that most Ukrainian military units are reluctant to engage with the Russian forces.

He said the units offering resistance are mostly volunteer battalions made up of right-wing Ukrainian nationalists.

However, he did not offer any evidence to support his claims.

Russia’s defence ministry Friday said its forces had captured the strategic Hostomel aerodrome, just 7 km (4 miles) northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and landed paratroops in the area. More than 200 people were eliminated from the Ukraine special units in the operation, it added.

The ministry claimed the Russian military had blocked access to Kyiv from the west, and separatist forces in east Ukraine had attacked Ukrainian army positions with Russian army support.

The Russian military said that it will not strike residential areas of Kyiv.

Russian missiles pounded the capital and some other parts of the country as the Russian forces pressed their advance in the early hours of Friday, following which several families were rushed to shelters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough.

The shelling sets off day two of fighting after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ‘military operations in Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 people, including 10 military officers, have been killed and 316 people injured so far.