Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Vladimir Putin of targeting civilian as well as military sites, as explosions were heard in Kyiv and Russian ground forces reportedly came within 20 miles of the capital. “They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. It is a lie, they do not distinguish in which areas to operate,” he said. Zelensky made the claim in a televised address early on Friday, in which he vowed to continue to defend his country. “Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later about how to end hostilities and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the smaller Russia’s losses will be.” The president, who also criticised world leaders for “watching from afar”, spoke after large explosions were heard in the capital, and after a warning from US secretary of state Antony Blinken that “all evidence suggests that Russia intends to encircle and threaten” the city. Zelenskiy has vowed to stay in the capital. The president said missile strikes resumed at 4am and some images soon emerged of damaged and burning tower blocks amid footage containing the sound of air raid sirens. Early on Friday, Ukraine’s military said it had shot down a Russia aircraft over the capital. The UK Ministry of Defence said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had provided “fierce resistance across all axes of Russia’s advance” and that is was unlikely Russia had achieved all its objectives for the first day of the invasion. The International criminal court (ICC) said on Friday it might investigate possible war crimes, though did not provide any further details. Ukrainian troops are battling Russian forces advancing toward Kyiv as part of the biggest invasion of a European state since the second world war. “We believe Moscow has developed plans to inflict widespread human rights abuses – and potentially worse – on the Ukrainian people,” Blinken told a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday.
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