Russia to 'storm' Kyiv tonight: Ukrainian president

‘The fate of Ukraine is being decided now,’ says Volodymyr Zelenskyy

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s president said late Friday that Russia will try to “storm” the capital Saturday and he vowed to resist, according to media reports.

Russia will use “all available forces to break the resistance. Despicably, cruelly, and inhumanly,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message on Facebook, according to Ukraine’s official news agency Ukrinform.

“Tonight they will storm,” said Zelenskyy. “I must say quite frankly, this night will be harder than the day.”

“Many cities of our state are under attack -- Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv -- our boys and girls in the Donbas, the cities of the south, special attention to Kyiv,” he said. “We can't lose the capital.”

“The fate of Ukraine is being decided now,” he said.

Russia's military intervention in Ukraine entered its third day Saturday, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital, Kyiv, from several directions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country, but wanted to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.