Kyiv curfew extended as Russian troops pound on Ukrainian capital

According to the Ukraine Health Ministry, at least 198 people, including three children, have been killed and 1,115 others wounded since the Russian invasion started on Thursday.

A curfew in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv has been extended as Russian troops continued to pound on several areas of the country for a third consecutive day.

The prolonged curfew will run from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. and remain in effect until Monday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitchsko announced Saturday after a night of airstrikes and intense gun fighting rocked the city.

“All civilians on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” Klitschko said on Twitter.

Ignoring weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday from the north, east and south.

Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but civilians have been killed and injured during Europe’s largest ground war since World War Two.

As of Saturday, at least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, had been killed in the Russian invasion and 1,115 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s Healthy Ministry.

The conflict has forced more than 120,000 Ukrainians to flee their homes for Poland, Moldova and other neighbouring countries, United Nations officials said.

Fighting was underway on Saturday near the southern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office said. The military said Russian cruise missiles had also launched from the Black Sea.