Kyiv is facing a Russian military offensive using heavy artillery to bombard the city, the head of the civil resistance effort has reported.
Speaking to the Chatham House think tank Andriy Levus said the Ukraine capital is therefore relying on a sufficient supply of anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to withstand the siege.
The country also needed short-range VHF radios and body armour for the Ukrainian resistance fighters to mount counter attacks into occupied areas.
Three weeks into the invasion Russian artillery positions were creeping closer to the city centre.
“The enemy is advancing slowly but steadily in spite of all our attempts to hold them back,” said Mr Levus, the Kyiv municipality civil resistance leader. “The closer they approach to the city line the closer they get to our residential areas, the more vulnerable we are.
“They are using a heavy artillery shelling the city and the main issue is how long will we be able to keep a Russian artillery away from the city centre.”
He suggested Russians would not bomb the parliament buildings because Moscow wanted politicians to be in place to accept its terms of surrender.
“If a capital city falls, it means that the entire country falls,” he told a webinar, Attacking and Defending Kyiv. “It is our task not to let it happen,” he added.
But Mr Levus, 42, who in 2014 was deputy of the security service, vowed Ukraine would never make concessions to Russia after all the bloodshed it had caused.
“We were attacked, and what they do is beyond moral, it is an inhumane fight,” he said. “There is no point for negotiation. We can't be a neutral country as long as the Russian Federation exists within it current borders.”
Like it had done with other Ukraine cities of Kharkiv and Mariupol, the Russians wanted to encircle Kyiv to cut off food, medicine and military supplies.
Mr Levus stated that Ukraine’s military had decided against stationing its artillery inside the city to return fire as that would jeopardise the local population.
But Russia had also deliberately positioned its guns and rocket launchers in the centre of towns and villages knowing the Ukrainians would not fire at their own people.
“They are provoking us, taking our people hostage,” he said, claiming Russians were “shooting people out of spite or for entertainment”.
Russian soldiers were shocked when they were “treated in a very civilised way ”and allowed to call relatives in Russia, provided with medical assistance and even given legal aid “when needed”.
The London think-tank’s Russia security expert, Mathieu Boulègue, argued that Moscow’s generals’ methodical approach to urban warfare was to “avoid having to fight hand-to-hand”.
The shelling was “indiscriminate bombardments” and amounted to a “terror campaign” because it lacked the precision of other armies.
The robust Ukrainian air defence systems, including its warplanes and surface-to-air missiles, could allow Kyiv to resist Russia, which was still unable to deploy its own air force without losses.
“But no air defence and no air support for Ukraine means that Russia will be able to advance quicker against Kyiv,” he added. “If Kyiv keeps its air defence and our support this will bring necessary assistance for the citizens of Ukraine fighting this war and surviving in a state of siege.”
Kyiv’s geography also did not “play in Russia's favour” with the river Dnieper inhibiting advance from the north or south. Furthermore, it had been “very smart and quick move from Ukraine” slowing down the Russian advance by using the river to flood fields.
In the three weeks since the invasion, the people had also destroyed bridges and built strongholds and barriers to hinder an attack. “This means that if there is genuine urban warfare this will be a terrible battle,” Mr Boulègue said.
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Smoke rising in Kyiv, which mayor Vitali Klitschko says faces a 'difficult and dangerous moment' as Russian forces step up strikes. AFP -
Pope Francis meets visitors holding the Ukrainian flag during his weekly general audience in the Vatican. AFP -
An anti-war protester demonstrates against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Nato headquarters in Brussels. AFP -
A poster in Saint Petersburg carries the letter Z, a symbol of support for the invasion, and reads: "We are proud of Russia! We are not ashamed!" AFP -
Amid the Ukraine war, there's time for a seaside stroll in Odesa. Reuters -
A child who fled from Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office in Brussels. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he appears via videoconference to make an address to Canada's Parliament. AP -
A woman walks with a bicycle next to a building damaged during the conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha, Donetsk region. Reuters -
A firefighter outside a destroyed apartment building in a residential area of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers pay tribute to Col Valeriy Gudz, who was killed in battle against Russian troops, at a cemetery in the town of Boryspil. AP -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a housing block hit by shelling in the Sviatoshynsky district, in western Kyiv. AFP -
Two people were killed as a series of powerful explosions rocked residential districts in Kyiv just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume. AFP -
The Met Opera and Chorus performs during 'A Concert For Ukraine' in New York City. AFP -
A worker welds metal at the Interpipe Steel plant in Dnipro, Ukraine. Hundreds of Interpipe’s 10,000 employees have joined the fight against Russia. AP -
A woman is rescued by firefighters from her apartment in a burning building that was hit by artillery shells in Kyiv. AP -
Rescuers work at a building damaged by an air strike, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A woman who fled Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office, in Brussels. EPA -
Cars stuck at the Irpin River bridge, as Russia unleashes a barrage of air strikes on cities across Ukraine. AFP -
A firefighter looks at a section of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile on a street in the separatist Donetsk region. The Russian military said 20 civilians were killed by a ballistic missile launched by the Ukrainian forces. AP -
Musician Davide Martello plays a piano near the Ukrainian border in Medyka, Poland. More than 1.76 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Polish Border Guard reported on March 14. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, snaps a selfie with a wounded man during a visit at a military hospital after fighting in the Kyiv region.AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles as they walk towards the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Troops carry an elderly woman on a stretcher across a makeshift bridge as Ukrainians flee Irpin. AFP -
Irina Moprezova, 54, stands in front of a house that was damaged by an air strike in Irpin. AFP -
The flags of Russia and Ukraine are projected on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, which a representative from the Jerusalem Municipality said is a show of support for diplomatic dialogue between the countries. Reuters -
A person holds a Ukrainian flag during an anti-war demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier takes cover as people flee Irpin. AFP -
Ukrainians shelter in an underground train station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman walks carefully with his weapon in the city of Irpin, near Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian people flee the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen carry an elderly woman on a stretcher from the city of Irpin. AFP -
A girl plays games on her tablet inside a subway carriage being used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an air strike on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian troops with a Javelin anti-tank missile on the front line in the northern Kyiv region. Reuters -
A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian woman takes shelter in a metro station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A member of the Ukrainian armed forces on patrol in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian fighter takes cover behind a car in the city of Irpin. AFP -
Firefighters at work after air strikes hit residential buildings in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A man wounded in an air strike is helped by medical staff in Novoiavorivsk, western Ukraine. Getty -
The ruins of the Ukraine Hotel after recent shelling in Chernihiv. EPA
There was considerable fear of Chechen mercenaries employed by Russia who specialised in “mopping up urban operations” and had “absolutely no regard for human life”.
Similarly, Russia could also be preparing the way to use chemical weapons by claiming Ukraine was going to use them.
Mr Levus, dressed in military fatigues, told the webinar Ukrainian villagers in occupied areas were still attacking tanks, setting them on fire with Molotov cocktails.
Urban warfare experts from the war in Donbas were training people in guerrilla tactics and in counter saboteur operations.
He added that Russia currently did not have enough troops to completely encircle the city but were getting close enough to use electronic warfare, including the jamming of phone signals.
