Ukraine to ask U.S. for more help as Russian airstrikes on Kyiv intensify

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Ukraine's president was preparing to make a direct appeal for more help in a rare speech by a foreign leader to the U.S. Congress, as Russia continued its bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Wednesday.

In the war's third week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested there was still some reason to be optimistic that negotiations with the Russian government might yet yield an agreement.

Previewing his speech to the U.S. Congress, Zelensky thanked President Joe Biden and "all the friends of Ukraine" for $13.6 billion in new support. He appealed for more weapons and more sanctions to punish Russia and repeated his call to "close the skies over Ukraine to Russian missiles and planes."

Zelensky said Russia's demands were becoming "more realistic" after their delegations met Tuesday via video. The sides were expected to speak again later Wednesday.

"Efforts are still needed, patience is needed," he said in his video address to the nation. "Any war ends with an agreement."

He said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities.

Developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground occurred as the number of people fleeing Ukraine amid Europe's heaviest fighting since the Second World War eclipsed three million.

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Russian forces have intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, the head of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said. He said Russian troops are trying to cut off the capital from transport arteries and destroy logistical capabilities even as they plan a wide-ranging attack to seize Kyiv. Twelve towns around Kyiv are without water and six without heat.

Russia has occupied the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometres north of Kyiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Kuleba said.

Across the Kyiv region, he said, "Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing."

A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment, said Tuesday the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country.

The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometres from the centre of the capital.