Ukrainians on Friday battled for their capital, Kyiv, as officials warned residents to stay indoors and “prepare Molotov cocktails” to defend against Russian forces who had entered a northern district of the city. Kyiv could fall quickly, the Biden administration warned Congress on Thursday.
As missile strikes hammered Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainians to defend the country, and President Vladimir V. Putin faced intensifying pressure from the international community.
The European Union placed sanctions on Mr. Putin, and the United States said it would follow suit. At a rare summit meeting, NATO leaders said more troops would be sent to eastern members and pledged to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine, including air-defense systems.
Russian officials signaled an openness to talks, but President Vladimir V. Putin derided the Ukrainian government and it was unclear under what conditions the Kremlin would consider negotiations.
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Mr. Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and described Mr. Zelensky’s government as “a band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.” The brutal language suggested he was not seriously planning to engage Mr. Zelensky in peace talks.
But earlier Friday, a Kremlin spokesman said Mr. Putin was prepared to send representatives to Belarus for talks with a Ukrainian delegation. The offer came after Mr. Putin spoke with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. The spokesman said that the Russian offer came on the heels of a comment by Mr. Zelensky that he was ready to discuss “neutral status” for Ukraine.
The European Union froze the assets of Mr. Putin and his foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. The United States said it was planning to sanction President Vladimir Putin as soon as Friday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged other NATO leaders to exclude Russia from Swift, a vital payment system used by banks worldwide.
Mr. Zelensky said that 137 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians had been killed in the Russian invasion that began on Thursday. The United Nations reported a lower tally of casualties but said that any figures were probably an undercount.
As Russian troops entered Kyiv on Friday, Ukraine’s military began arming civilians to help defend the capital.
Scores of residents stood in line to pick up assault rifles at a distribution center in central Kyiv after President Volodymyr Zelensky called for volunteers to take up arms.
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