KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv's mayor is filled with pride over his citizens’ spirit and anxious about how long they can hold out.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians.
He says “we can’t do that, because all ways are blocked.” He later backed away from that assessment but authorities in Kyiv are distributing weapons freely to anybody ready to defend the city.
A curfew on Sunday was keeping civilians in Kyiv inside so defenders could roust out Russian saboteurs.
