President Zelensky vows pro-Western country will never give in to Kremlin even as Russia fires cruise missiles
\n Kyiv
\nUkrainian forces repulsed a Russian attack on Kyiv but \u201csabotage groups\u201d infiltrated the capital, officials said on Saturday, as Ukraine reported 198 civilians deaths, including children, following Russia\u2019s invasion.
\nA defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his pro-Western country would never give in to the Kremlin even as Russia said it had fired cruise missiles at military targets.
\nWith explosions echoing around Kyiv on the third day of Russia\u2019s assault, Zelensky spoke in a video message, wearing olive green military-style clothing and looking tired but determined.
\n\u201cI am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth,\u201d he said. \u201cOur truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this.\u201d
\nIgnoring warnings from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion that the UN refugee agency said has forced almost 116,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries.
\nTens of thousands more are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, with many on the move to less affected western areas of the country.
\nIn Kyiv, residents took shelter in the subway system and in cellars and basements.
\n\u201cWe thought something like this might happen but we were hoping until the end that it wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Irina Butyak told AFP in one shelter.
\n\u201cWe were hoping that common sense and common decency would prevail. Well, it didn\u2019t,\u201d said the 38-year-old teacher, who hoped she would be able to escape soon to western Ukraine.
\nUkrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said 198 civilians, including three children, had been killed in the conflict and 1,115 wounded.
\nIn Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the world must brace for a long war. \u201cThis crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences,\u201d Macron said.
\n\u201cWe must be prepared\u201d.
\nAfter speaking to Macron, Zelensky tweeted to thank \u201cpartners\u201d for sending weapons and equipment.
\nSeveral NATO members have sent weapons and ammunition to Ukraine in recent weeks, including Britain, the United States and ex-communist countries in Eastern Europe.
\nIn another video address, the 44-year-old leader also said that his country had \u201cderailed\u201d the Russian plan of overthrowing him and establishing a puppet state in Ukraine.
\nIn the early hours of Saturday, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard occasional blasts of what soldiers said were artillery and Grad missiles being fired in an area northwest of the city centre.
\nThere were also loud explosions in the centre.
\nEmergency services said a high-rise apartment block was hit by shelling overnight, posting a picture that showed a hole covering at least five floors blasted into the side of the building.
\nKyiv\u2019s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said the building had been hit by a missile.
\n\u201cThe night was difficult, but there are no Russian troops in the capital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Zelensky vows pro-Western country will never give in to Kremlin even as Russia fires cruise missiles Kyiv Ukrainian forces repulsed a Russian attack on Kyiv but \u201csabotage groups\u201d infiltrated the capital, officials said on Saturday, as Ukraine reported 198 civilians deaths, including children, following Russia\u2019s invasion. A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4498,3212,4497,4479],"class_list":{"0":"post-246650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-cruise-missiles","9":"tag-russian","10":"tag-ukrainian","11":"tag-volodymyr-zelensky"},"yoast_head":"\n