After Chernobyl had been captured by Russian forces yesterday, a mere 81 miles from Kyiv, Russian forces are reportedly making assaults and being repelled before the Ukrainian capital where Ukrainian government leaders are based. The gov’t in Kyiv claims Chechen assassins are out to kill Zelensky, his family, and officials of his government.

The invasion of Ukraine had advanced along three routes. The US had stated that the Russian advance was faster compared to initial predictions, according to an anonymous source cited by a report by USA Today. It should be recalled that some predictions said Kyiv would fall in the first 48 hours. Furthermore, Russian forces have already launched aerial attacks on Kyiv with cruise and ballistic missiles as per Adviser to the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko.

In an attempt to slow down the Russian advance, Ukrainian troops had blown a bridge over Teteriv River amid reports of Kyiv’s international airport in Boryspil being leveled by missiles, both of which are just a few miles from the presidential office. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry also reported that Russian reconnaissance troops had managed to enter the Obolon district of northern Kyiv, which means they are a mere 6 miles from the city center where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the rest of the Ukrainian government operate.

Despite their best efforts, the Antonov airport, which is an hour away from Kyiv, had been captured after several attempts by Russia Air Assault forces and ground troops. In light of this, Ukrainian citizens were armed with weapons courtesy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces after Zelensky had imposed martial law and decreed that no Ukrainian male of military ages 18 to 60 was to leave the country. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also appealed to its citizens via Facebook to make Molotov cocktails and hurl at Russian troops and inform the government of any Russian soldiers in their area.

Repeated if sporadic rocket strikes were reportedly heard in Ukraine’s capital by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a scene that had been unheard of since World War II. In response to the attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko had stated that the Russians were trying to put Kyiv and Ukrainians on their knees.