Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused an offer from the United States to assist in his extraction from Kyiv, as Russian forces advanced on the capital, his office said Friday night.
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Defying warnings from the West, Russia launched an incursion of Ukraine in the later hours of Wednesday night, citing reasons from its own national security over the NATO dispute to protecting Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist regions the independence of which the Kremlin recognized last week.
The recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent" met with widespread condemnation from the West as it was clear it could provide Moscow with a pretext for an invasion.
In a statement following the US offer, Zelenskyy said, "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride," according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine's capital on Saturday, after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.
The Ukrainian Health Ministry said in a statement that 198 civilians, including three children, were killed in the overnight raids.
Russian forces captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol in the early hours of Saturday morning, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, as Moscow launched coordinated cruise missile and artillery strikes on several cities, including the capital Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said the government had information that "subversive groups" were encroaching on the capital, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv "could well be under siege" in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime.
According to intelligence, Russia plans a massive false flag operation to 'dehumanize' Ukrainians and accuse Ukraine of alleged inhuman actions. Don't trust fakes. Ukraine defends its land in a just and defensive war. Unlike Russia, we don't target kindergartens and civilians.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 25, 2022
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was deploying thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine's neighbors, and will continue to send weapons to the Ukrainian military.
In a statement, Stoltenberg said NATO was "deploying elements of its rapid response force," including land, air, naval and special forces, on member-states soil.
Some of the 30 NATO allies also confirmed that they would be supply weapons to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, without giving specific details.
"Allies are very committed to continuing to provide support. We are now deploying the NATO response force for the first time in the context of collective defense," he said. "There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally, and every inch of NATO territory."
Stoltenberg, too, accused Putin of trying to topple the Ukrainian regime: "We see rhetoric, the messages, which is strongly indicating that the aim is to remove the democratically elected government in Kyiv," he said during a news conference following a virtual meeting of NATO leaders.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 25, 2022 (EPA/Stephanie Lecocq/File)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk confirmed Friday that President Zelenskyy has asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate in the conflict with Russia.
"We have been talking to the Israelis for at least the last year about a possible intermediary role for Israel," Korniychuk told Reuters. "Our leadership believes that Israel is the only democratic state that has excellent relations with both countries."
Bennett's office was not immediately available for comment. An earlier statement by his office about Bennett's conversation with Zelenskyy made no mention of any mediation appeal.
"Bennett reiterated his hope for a speedy end to the fighting, and said that he stands by the people of Ukraine in these difficult days," the statement said, adding that the prime minister offered Kyiv humanitarian aid.
Korniychuk said Friday's phone conversation between the leaders was the fifth time that Zelenskyy had asked Bennett for Israeli mediation, and that he had previously asked former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Following up with the Israelis after one of the earlier appeals, "I heard [that] this offer was not well-accepted by the Russian side," Korniychuk said.
Israel has condemned the Russian invasion on Thursday as "a serious violation of international order" and has since remained largely muted on Moscow's actions.
The move earned Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi a rebuke, the Russian Embassy in Israel said on Friday.
"The hope was expressed that Israel would treat with due understanding the reasons that prompted the Russian leadership to decide to conduct a special military operation to protect civilians in Donbass, demilitarize and denazify Ukraine," the embassy said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov asked Ben Zvi why Israel was expressing support for the "Nazis" in Ukraine, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "special military operation" would seek the "denazification" of its neighbor.
Moscow repeatedly claimed that its invasion was aimed at "denazification" of the country, whose president is Jewish.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Bogdanov "expressed the hope" that Israel would show understanding towards the reasons for the Moscow military campaign.
Earlier Friday, Bennett, offered Ukraine "any humanitarian aid needed."
As an initial step, Israel will send 10 million shekels ($3.07 million) in aid to Ukraine's Jewish community immediately, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry said.
"This decision comes from the unique mandate of the State of Israel, and in particular, its Diaspora Ministry, as the nation-state of the Jewish people, to support Jewish individuals and communities in harm's way," Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai said in a statement.
The ministry said aid be delivered in the form of food and medicine, funding for security guards around Jewish centers, helping refugees, and transporting people to safer areas.
"We are following developments in the area with great concern. Our hearts are with the Jewish people of Ukraine," Shai said, according to the Times of Israel. "We will continue to closely monitor the needs and developments in the field, and respond accordingly."
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