The mayor of the Ukrainian capital is imposing an intensified curfew as Russian troops press on the city and is warning that violators will be considered “enemy” saboteurs.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko says on Telegram that to improve the defense of the capital the curfew will be extended from 5:00 pm to 8:00 am local time between Saturday and Monday.
“All civilians who are on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups,” he writes.
The previous curfew in Kyiv, a city of three million people, had run from 10 p.m. till 7 a.m.
In other news, Russia said it has given orders to its army “to broaden its offensive” against its neighbor “from all directions” after Ukraine refused to hold talks in Belarus.
Russia’s defense ministry in a statement on Saturday, said, “After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, today all units were given orders to develop the advance from all directions in accordance with the operation’s plans.”
According to Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik, President Vladimir Putin had ordered a temporary halt to the Russian military operation in Ukraine on Friday afternoon in connection with the expectation of negotiations with Kyiv, but the operation was resumed Saturday afternoon after the Ukrainian leadership refused to talk.
