Washington DC March 11 2022: Russian forces have moved three miles (5km) closer to Kyiv in the past 24 hours, a senior US defence official has said.
That means Russian troops advancing from the capital’s north-west are now just nine miles (15km) from the city centre, the official told reporters.
Russian forces advancing from the north-east are about 25 miles (40km) from the city, the official added.
The northern city of Chernihiv is now “isolated”, the official said.
The official also said Russian forces have fired 775 missiles of “all stripes, all varieties” since their invasion of Ukraine began.
Earlier on Thursday, Kyiv’s mayor said the capital was defended by armed civilians and had basically become a fortress.
