Russian forces move within 9 miles of Kyiv's city centre, says Pentagon

The Russian forces closest to the heart of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv are coming from the northwest, in the area of the Hostomel Airport, says Pentagon.

Since Wednesday, the Russian troops fought their way three miles closer, bringing them within roughly nine miles of the city center, according to the official. The airport is only about five miles as the bird flies from the outer city limits.

The Washington-based news media ABC News reports that two parallel lines of advance from the northeast are also making progress on their push to the capital, the closest of these troops now about 25 miles from the center of Kyiv.

Some Russian troops from one of those lines, emanating from above the town of Sumy, seem to have turned around, heading back northeast. The official said the reason for the about-face is unclear.

Meanwhile, a senior US defence official says Russian forces have moved three miles (5km) closer to Kyiv in the past 24 hours.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Russian troops had moved closer to the capital. He also said the Russian forces launched a massive attack at night to take control of Kyiv’s main thoroughfares.

Meanwhile, the Zelenskyy administration says the Russian forces have stepped up attacks on the port city of Mariupol.

The city authorities said the city had experienced "nine days of continuous shelling of the civilian population" with "half a million people without light, water, heat and communications."

The deputy mayor of the besieged southern port of Mariupol says he doesn't know how many people have been killed in total in the city, but the most recent figure is 1,207, reports BBC.

“ A mass grave of 48 bodies has been found in the city. It is impossible to go outside the city. These are just bodies that we collected on the street", Mariupol deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov said.

Orlov said it has not been possible to evacuate people from the city or bring in aid. About 100 people trying to flee in private cars had to turn back on Wednesday, he said, after Russian forces at a checkpoint started to shoot "not directly into the cars, but around the cars".

Posting a video in the social media, the  city mayor Vadym Boichenko said: "My heart today is full of rage."

"Today Russia led by its leader President (Vladimir) Putin carried out an air strike on a peaceful city, firing on a children's hospital," he added.

In that posted video he said they wanted to take away the lives of our children, our women, our doctors. He also asked for Ukraine's international partners to help and for a no-fly zone to be established over Ukraine.