There is heavy fighting north and northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian army, superior Russian forces will be fought at Dimer and Ivankiv.

The Russian soldiers are said to have been stopped there for the time being. The dimer is 25 kilometres from Kyiv, Ivankiv 30 kilometres away.

On Thursday, heavy fighting was reported for the airport at Hostomel, 17 kilometres northwest of Kyiv. According to Kyiv, the airport where the aircraft manufacturer Antonov is located was attacked by Russian paratroopers and was recaptured during the day. There is also fighting northwest of Kyiv on the Teteriv River, where a bridge has been blown up to stop the Russians.

The population of the capital of 2.8 million inhabitants has been advised to take cover in underground metro stations or in air raid shelters.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said Russian soldiers overpowered two vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces and dressed themselves in Ukrainian uniforms. They then drove into the city of Kyiv in the Obolon district. A short time later, her ministry reported that those “saboteurs have been destroyed”.

Reports about the battle are often unclear and untraceable. However, Russians are also said to have attacked an airport in the northwest, 150 kilometres from the Polish border, near Rivne on Friday.