Ukraine’s capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin’s tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv.
Bridges leading to Kyiv and to Kharkiv, in the east, were destroyed by Ukrainian forces to try and slow the Russian advance.
Ukraine’s deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems.
Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said.
A Russian jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river.
It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles.
Air raid sirens were heard on Friday morning in Kyiv and in the city of Lviv to the far west – where the city was left without power.
Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at Western cowards who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being ‘left alone’ to face Russian troops.
Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend.
In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots ‘heroes’ after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end.
He said: ‘They’re killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It’s foul and will never be forgiven.