Russian troops stormed the capital of Ukraine early Saturday. Street fighting broke out when city officials advised residents to seek shelter. American officials offered to evacuate the country, but President of Ukraine refused and said that he would remain. He said, “The fight has begun.”

After two days of intense fighting, hundreds were killed and many buildings and schools were destroyed. According to U.S. officials, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president is determined overthrow Ukraine’s government and install his own regime.

Putin made the boldest attempt to redefine the world’s map, and to revive Moscow’s Cold War-era dominance. This attack triggered international actions to stop the invasion. It also prompted sanctions against Putin.

While his country faced explosions, gunfire, and the fate of Kyiv was at stake, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for a ceasefire. He also warned that many cities would be under attack.

“This night, we have to stand strong,” he stated. “The fate for Ukraine is now being decided.”

According to an American intelligence officer with direct knowledge, Zelenskyy refused to leave Kyiv after being urged by the U.S. government. An official said the president stated that “the battle is here” that he required anti-tank ammunition, but that he did not need a ride.

Officials in Kyiv advised residents to seek shelter and avoid windows, as well as to use precautions to prevent bullets or flying debris.

While the Kremlin acknowledged Kyiv’s offer of talks, it looked more like an attempt to get concessions from Zelenskyy than a gesture in the direction of a diplomatic resolution.

Russian forces continued their advance and seized Melitopol, in southern Ukraine. In the fog of war, however, it wasn’t clear how much Ukraine was under Ukrainian control or how many Russian forces had seized.

The fighting continued, and the Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian II-76 transport plane with paratroopers. It was located near Vasylkiv (a city approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Kyiv), an account that was confirmed by a high ranking American intelligence officer. Unknown how many people were aboard. Transport planes can hold up to 125 paratroopers.

Two American officials, who had direct access to conditions at the Ukrainian ground, reported that a second Russian military transport airplane was lost near BilaTserkva.

Russian military did not comment on the planes.

As the impact of the Russian invasion continued to reverberate through the global economy and energy supply, the U.S. along with other international powers placed ever more severe sanctions against Russia. This threatened to continue to hit everyday households. U.N. officials stated that thousands could flee Ukraine. Russia is being punished by the sports leagues, and Eurovision has banned Russia from the finals of May in Italy.

Russia was unaffected by all of it, refusing to ratify a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for it to stop the attack on Ukraine and immediately withdraw troops. Although the veto was not unexpected, the U.S. supported the idea that this would emphasize Moscow’s isolation from the rest of the world. China, India, the United Arab Emirates and China abstain from voting 11-1 in opposition to Russia’s incursion into its militarily less-developed neighbor.

NATO decided, in contrast, to deploy parts of its response force, to assist with the protection of its members’ nations in the East for the first-ever time. NATO didn’t specify how many troops would deploy, but said that they would use land and sea power.

Day Two of Russia’s Invasion, Europe’s largest-ever ground war, was focused on Kiev, where Associated Press journalists heard blasts before dawn. In several locations, gunfire was also reported.

The sound of a large boom was heard at night near Maidan Nezalezhnosti. It is the central Kyiv square that saw the protests that led to the ouster of the Kremlin friendly president in 2014. It was unclear what caused the boom.

According to Vitaly Klitschko Mayor, there were five explosions near an important power station on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv. The cause of the explosions was not known and no outages reported immediately.

The number of people who had perished was not known. From the beginning of the fighting, Ukrainian officials said that there were at least 137 casualties and hundreds from the Russian side. Russian authorities did not provide any figures on casualties.

Officials from the U.N. reported that 25 civilians were killed in airstrikes and shelling, with 100,000 others fleeing their homes. According to them, up to 4,000,000 could flee the area if fighting gets worse.

Zelenskyy wrote that he called President Joe Biden to discuss “strengthening Sanctions, concrete Defense Assistance and an Antiwar Coalition.”

Biden signed late Friday a memo authorizing $350 million of additional security assistance for Ukraine. This brings the total approved security aid to Ukraine to $1Billion over the last year. Not immediately known how fast the aid would flow.

Zelenskyy was Russia’s Number One target. His whereabouts are kept secret. 1 target — and that they might not see him again alive. Later, his office released video showing him with top aides outside of the presidential office. He said that he would remain in the capital along with other officials.

Zelenskyy had offered to negotiate earlier on a critical Putin demand. He wanted Ukraine to declare its neutrality and drop the ambitions of becoming a NATO member. According to the Kremlin, Kyiv had initially agreed that talks would be held in Minsk. However, it later stated that it preferred Warsaw. Communication was then halted. Maria Zakharova spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry and said that Kyiv was open to discussing prospects for negotiations on Saturday.

Putin denied that the attack was in progress for as long as he could remember. The U.S. and its allies had been anticipating the assault for several weeks. By refusing to deal with Russia’s security needs, he claimed the West made him no alternative.

Putin gave a glimpse into the isolation of Putin’s views on Ukraine, urging its military to give way. He said: “We would rather agree with you than that gang drug addicts, neo Nazis, who are hiding in Kyiv, and have taken all the Ukrainian people hostage.”

The Kremlin plays on Russians’s nostalgia for World War II heroes and equates right-wing members in Ukraine with neo Nazis. Zelenskyy who is Jewish dismisses such claims with fury.

Putin’s ultimate intentions for Ukraine have not been revealed. Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, gave an indication, saying that “We want to let Ukraine’s people decide its fate.” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson said that Russia recognized Zelenskyy to be the president. However, he did not specify how long it could take for Russia to end its military operations.

The Russians invaded Ukraine in three parts and gathered an estimated 150,000 soldiers nearby.

The residents of an apartment building in Kyiv woke up to smoke, smoke, and dust. The mayor indicated that Russian shelling had caused the destruction of a portion of the building, which he then lit a fire.

What are you doing?” This is what it means. resident Yurii Zhyhanov asked Russian forces. As many other Ukrainians did, he took all his belongings and took his mother with him. He fled the scene, the car alarms wailing behind him.

A body of a soldier was found near an underpass in Kyiv. The brick houses of a neighborhood were filled with fragments of an aircraft that had been downed. The black plastic draped body parts that were found next to them. To face yet another day of chaos, people climbed from bomb shelters, subways, and basements.

“We are all afraid and anxious. “We don’t know how to react or what will happen next,” Lucy Vashaka (20), a workman at a Kyiv hotel.

John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said that America believes the offensive including the advance against Kiev has taken place more slowly than Moscow expected. Kirby also pointed out that Ukraine forces had been fighting back. However, he said that the military campaign is still at an infancy stage and things can change very quickly.

Friday’s announcement by the Biden administration was that they would freeze Putin’s assets and Lavrov’s assets, as a result of the direct sanctioning by the European Union (and Britain) of top Russian leaders.

Zakharova (Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson) called sanctions against Putin, Lavrov and others “an example of total helplessness of the West.”