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The Pentagon is warning that Russia’s invasion is designed to decapitate the Ukrainian government in Kyiv, according to a U.S. senior defense official.
Russian forces are in the initial phase of their invasion of Ukraine and were attacking through three corridors, the official said in a report the Department of Defense released Thursday.
There was fighting within 20 miles of the center of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and fighting around Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city located near the border with Russia in the east.
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Explosions could be heard in Kyiv early Friday local time as reports indicated Russian troops were closing in on the city.
Russian forces also attacked from the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in southern Ukraine, which Russia illegally seized in 2014. The Pentagon report stated that those three “axes” were designed to take key population centers.
A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
((AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka))
“It’s our assessment that [Russian forces] have every intention of basically, decapitating the government and installing their own method of governance, which would explain these early moves towards Kyiv,” the official said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early Friday that Russia designated him “target number one” and his family was number two in its continuing attack on the country.
Russia’s invasion – from the sea, air, and land — started with a missile barrage of around 100 intermediate-range, short-range, and cruise missiles, the official said.
Russia used about 75 fixed-wing, heavy and medium bombers as a part of their assault that primarily targeted military bases and air defense nodes. After those attacks, Russian land forces moved into Ukraine.
The official had no estimate of casualties, but Zelenskyy said in a video address Thursday that at least 137 Ukrainians were killed and more than 300 were wounded during the first day of the invasion. The dead included all border guards on Zmiinyi Island, located in the Black Sea, which the Russians took over.
In these frames from Feb. 24, 2022, videos, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv.
((Russian Presidential Press Service and Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP))
Russian forces also seized control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press.
But Ukrainian forces continue to resist the invasion and are fighting back against the superior firepower of the Russians, the official said, without giving specifics. During his address, an emotional Zelenskyy said the fate of Ukraine depends “fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.”
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In fear of an attack in the capital city of Kyiv, thousands of people went underground and jammed subway stations.
People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
((AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti))
Other Ukrainians fled their homeland, and the official said there was an increasing number of people crossing Ukraine’s borders into western countries.
Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
((AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti))
According to the Pentagon report, the official also gave specifics on U.S. forces that were being moved to the eastern flank of NATO to “reassure frontline states.”
The official said six F-35 Lightning 2 Joint Strike Fighters will arrive in Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania today. Apache helicopters deployed from Germany and Greece to the Baltic republics and Poland were expected to arrive soon after experiencing weather-related issues.
On Friday, Biden said the U.S. and its NATO allies will meet to “map out” how they will counter Moscow.
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As for Putin, the official said the Russian president decided to invade Ukraine despite having other diplomatic options. Putin also bears the responsibility for the unprovoked attack and the deaths resulting from his actions, the official added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
