Russia issues chilling warning for Ukrainians to flee Kyiv NOW as it blitzes TV tower ahead of new bombardment
RUSSIA has warned Ukrainians to leave now before Vladimir Putin launches a terrifying new bombardment on Kyiv.
Putin's defence ministry warned that the centre of the capital will be hit with "high precision weapons".
It comes as a 40-mile long column of Russian forces remains on the outskirts of Kyiv with fears looming of an imminent siege.
Russian forces are believed to see the capital as the ultimate objective of their invasion.
Putin's plan is thought to be to seize Kyiv, eliminate the government led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and install a puppet regime.
Ukraine remains under attack on all fronts – but for now the capital holds its breath for what could be a devastating onslaught.
Footage from the capital today has shown Russian forces attacking a TV tower – knocking out all broadcasts.
The interior ministry said equipment had been damaged and "channels won't work for a while".
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And meanwhile residents armed themselves with guns and molotov cocktails as they prepared for what could be a prolonged siege.
Makeshift barricades made of tyres, trucks and wheelie bins have been erected ahead of the defence of Kyiv.
Signs also appeared in the capital which read: "Russian soldier, go to f***".
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Others reads "Putin is lost" and "The entire world is with Ukraine" as the defiant citizens stand up to Russia.
Western officials fear Putin could unleashed barbaric new attacks as the invasion is not seen as going to plan.
Russian commanders are believed to have thought they could seize Ukraine within 48 hours.
It comes as…
- Belarus joined the invasion as its forces moved into Ukraine – despite saying it wasn't going to attack
- Russian marines mutinied on a warship as they refused to fight against Ukraine
- Putin is feared to unleash his barbaric rocket weapons in a carpet bombing of Ukraine
- It comes as Russia is believed to have unleashed terrifying "vacuum bombs" which can blow out people's lungs
- Boris Johnson accused Putin of killing children and using "barbaric" tactics in Ukraine
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of war crimes over the attacks of Kharkiv
- The Klitschko brothers are on a "kill list" of Ukrainians the Russians want dead
But now the invasion has lasted almost one week.
Putin's growing frustration could lead to an even more vicious and indiscriminate campaign to stamp out resistance.
Defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: "In order to suppress information attacks on Russia, the technological infrastructure of the SBU (Ukraine's Security Service) and the 72nd main PSO (Psychological Operations Unit) centre in Kyiv will be hit with high-precision weapons.
"We call on… Kyiv residents living near relay nodes to leave their homes."
Ukrainian authorities have accused the Russian army of carrying out strikes on residential areas in several cities, including the eastern city of Kharkiv, where fierce fighting is taking place.
Russia however insists it does not target civilians, despite overwhelming evidence otherwise.
Putin's forces pressed their attack on other towns and cities across the country, including at or near the strategic ports of Odesa and Mariupol in the south.
And they launched a massive strike on the city of Kharkiv, killing ten people.
Day six of the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II found Russia increasingly isolated, beset by tough sanctions that have thrown its economy into turmoil and left the country almost friendless.
Overall death tolls from the fighting remained unclear.
But a senior Western intelligence official estimated Tuesday that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers had been captured or killed.
US officials also believe Russia has not yet managed to win control of the airspace – and so far 400 missiles have been launched at Ukraine.
It came as Ukraine claimed today Belarus troops stormed across the border in the north to join the Russian invasion.
The country's parliament said Belarusian troops entered the Chernihiv region just hours after Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko claimed he had no plans to join Putin's invasion.
The huge 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles is already inching closer to the Ukrainian capital as fighting intensifies on the ground.
Putin's puppet leader Lukashenko has already allowed the Russian president to use Belarus as a staging post for his forces.
Images have emerged in recent days appearing to show trains stacked with tanks arriving in the city of Brest in the south west – and there have been reports of missile and aircraft launches from Belarus.
And meanwhile, Presidenr Zelenskyy addressed the European Parliament after yesterday requesting to join the EU.
He accused Russia of "state terrorism" over a missile strike on Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv.
"We are fighting also to be equal members of Europe. I believe that today we are showing everybody that is what we are," he said.
"We have proven that, as a minimum, we are the same as you."
Zelenskyy received a round of applause as the war continues for its sixth day and Ukraine remains under siege.
Belarus's troop rollout comes just hours after Lukashenko denied Russian forces were attacking Ukraine from his territory.
Nato's chief Jens Stoltenberg today called on Russia to withdraw all its forces – and said Belarus was "enabling" the war.
He said the column of "heavy Russian armour" moving towards Kyiv would bring "more death, more suffering and more civilian casualties".
Speaking at the Tapa military base in Estonia, he said: "That is the reason why we need to continue to provide support to Ukraine, why we continue to call on Russia to stop this bloody war and why we need to impose costs by the heavy sanctions on Russia."
Putin's troops are believed to be looking to surround Kyiv after earlier attacks by advanced forces were repelled in fierce battles.
Kyiv is bracing itself for a further onslaught after the Russians unleashed hell on Ukraine's second city Kharkiv using deadly cluster bombs.
Satellite pictures provider Maxar Technologies said the convoy on the eastern edge of Kyiv's Antonov airport contained hundreds of armoured vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and logistics support vehicles.
Other images showed also Russian ground forces close in Zdvyzhivka, northeast of Kyiv.
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Kyiv residents in the city remained defiant in the face of the oncoming onslaught and pledged to fight for their homes.
"We will greet them with Molotov cocktails and bullets to the head," said bank employee Viktor Rudnichenko.
"The only flowers they might get from us will be for their grave."
The Russian army urged Ukrainians to leave Kyiv "freely" on one highway out ahead of what is an expected Russian offensive to capture the capital.
Ukraine's army says it fought off several attempts by Russian forces to storm the outskirts of Kyiv overnight with the capital also hit by three missile strikes.
Despite the Ukrainian's success in repelling all the attacks on Kyiv so far, US officials fear Putin's forces could still prevail, after re-thinking their tactics.
Putin is believed to have so far committed 80 per cent of his staged forces to Ukraine.
But it is possible Russia could draw upon the well of its absolutely massive military to throw more resources at Ukraine.
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