Ukraine invasion: What to know as Russian forces target Kyiv

Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital Friday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.

Amid growing signs that Russia aims to overthrow him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European Union leaders in a video link-up from his bunker late Thursday that it might be the last time they saw him alive.

But on Friday Zelenskyy released a video of himself and his senior aides outside the presidential office in Kyiv to reassure Ukrainians that he and other top officials would stay in the capital.

For people like Bohdana Puzyk, President of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, it’s personal.

And Florida International University Political Science Professor Tatiana Kostandinova said, “The relations have been strained by the fact that the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991 and Ukraine declared independence. So it has been difficult for Russia to accept.”

She said, “It’s Oh my gosh. It’s you know, it’s no different than when we see something in America burning trash destroyed, neglected. Your heart just breaks.”

The assault, anticipated for weeks by the West, amounts to Europe’s largest ground conflict since World War II. It could also portend the emergence of a new “Iron Curtain” between the West and Russia, with global repercussions.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO partners agreed Friday to send thousands of troops to help protect allies along Europe’s eastern edge.

Porter Goss, Former Director of the CIA, said, “Most Americans couldn’t find Ukraine on a map, but most Americans really do care about atrocities to human beings, especially innocent human beings, so suddenly this is going from back page to front page very quickly.”

We asked Goss if he thinks we could see another world war.

“I wouldn’t put it that way because things have changed,” he explained. “Conventional warfare isn’t anymore, the way things are done, but we have unconventional warfare … You don’t know what the rules are. People don’t wear uniforms, you can’t identify them, you don’t know what to believe. People can be super violent and there are a lot of people who say let’s exploit this disorder for our personal advantage.”

Goss also said the U.S.- led NATO and European allies need to show strength, leadership, and resolve to stop Putin.

As for Puzyk, she says, “How do you identify specifically what you want America to do? I don’t want to see my son going over there to fight in this war, any more than I want to see their sons fighting this war.”