President Volodymyr Zelensky released a new and defiant video message Saturday night local time as curfew set in for Ukrainians in Kyiv, saying “we will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country. ”
Zelensky also suggested western allies were now prepared cut off Russia from the SWIFT international payments system, a secure messaging service used by more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions throughout the world.
The move has been under consideration for a while, though some European nations have expressed concern that disconnecting Russian banks’ access to the primary system for global financial transactions would cause significant collateral economic damage.
“Our diplomats fought around the clock to inspire all European countries to agree on a strong and fair decision to disconnect Russia from the international interbanking network,” Zelensky said. “We also have this victory.”
A senior U.S. defense official told reporters earlier on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “more than 50% of his total assembled power now committed inside Ukraine,” and that “tens of thousands” of troops have entered in the country in the last 24 hours.
The official added that there are indications Russia did not anticipate this level of Ukrainian resistance and has had to commit more logistics and supplies, such as fuel, than initially planned.
The fighting in and around Kyiv intensified Saturday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to stay in the capital and “protect our country.”
At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed since Russia launched its invasion, according to Ukraine’s health ministry.
Russia began a massive assault on Kyiv around midnight local time on Saturday, as Ukrainian forces to retain control of the capital on the third day of Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion.
Ukraine confirmed that Russian forces blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, a city on the Russian border in northeast Ukraine that has endured some of the most intense fighting of the war.
Germany announced it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine — a major reversal of its strict arms export policies that came after weeks of public pressure.
Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Latvia said Saturday they would ban Russian airlines from their airspace. The move followed similar announcements from Poland, the United Kingdom, Moldova and the Czech Republic.
