WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed that his military will keep fighting back against the Russian invasion, declaring martial law and ordering a full military mobilization that would last 90 days.
At the same time, all Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country, according to Ukraine's state border guard service.
On Thursday, Ukraine said its army stands at 250,000 servicemen with 140,000 reservists. The U.S. said Russia had nearly 200,000 troops arrayed near Ukraine's borders before the invasion began.
Zelenskyy said 137 people, both servicemen and civilians, have been killed and hundreds more wounded since the invasion began.
He said he has information that he's the No. 1 target for the invading Russians but that he planned to remain in Kyiv. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said early Friday that the Ukrainian attended a meeting of European Union leaders via video link from what appeared to be some sort of bunker.
Fearing a Russian attack, many of the capital’s residents Thursday night took shelter deep underground in metro stations. People brought sleeping bags and blankets, dogs and crossword puzzles as they sought safety in the makeshift bomb shelters.
In the early hours of the morning, several explosions were heard in different parts of the city. Air raid sirens also went off.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had called on the city’s 3 million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents.