Many expected kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to fall under Russian control overnight. Putin’s army surrounded the city throughout Friday, with explosions and gunfire echoing through neighborhoods.
All conventional wisdom, including US intelligence and the Ukrainian government, thought kyiv would be lost. The size and power of the Russian army would undoubtedly overwhelm the Ukrainian forces.
This conventional wisdom, however, did not take into account the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people.
As the sun rose in kyiv on Saturday morning, the city was still standing.
The Ukrainian people protect Kyiv continues to fight against the Russian invasion
“Hello from Kyiv,” wrote journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr on Twitter. “We are always here.”
Starr’s Tweet included a video of a sunrise over central Kyiv. There were no explosions or gunfire in the background, only birdsong chirping in the still air.
Another tweet from the Ukrainian diplomat Alexander Scherba talked about citizen resistance overnight.
“The sun is up in Kyiv,” the tweet begins. “The shooting in my neighborhood has stopped. I can hear the birds. Looks like the end of a vampire movie. Something tells me that tonight was important. And the enemy will also remember this night.
Social media posts show women and men on the front lines in Ukraine taking drastic measures to stop the Russian invasion.
Video on Twitter literally shows residents place their bodies in front of a Russian tanks to slow their advance into the country.
According to Scherba and others, more than 3,000 Russian soldiers were killed and hundreds more were captured. If accurate, the losses are far greater than Putin or his advisers ever expected.
Throughout the country, citizens voluntarily take up arms to defend their nation. Trey Yingst, a reporter stationed near a police station in Kyiv, noted that “the line of people waiting to come in and get weapons circled the block.”
Ukrainian mother pleads for underground shelter intervention
Olena Gnes, a mother from Ukraine, took to social media to plead for Western intervention. She spoke to Fox News on Saturday morning as she held her three young children in an underground bomb shelter.
“They won’t control us. Ukrainians will not surrender,” Olena Gnes said in an interview via FaceTime.
Gnes said she understands many nations rely on diplomacy, but urges leaders not to trust Russia.
“They don’t understand diplomacy. They will try to kill us. Please don’t let this happen. Please step in and do something forcefully. I call for military intervention.
Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Gnes if she had a message for President Biden.
“Mr. President Biden,” the young mother said, looking directly at the camera, “if you stop Russian aggression, if you stop Vladimir Putin’s aggression… you will be the best man in the world.”
“You will be the man who prevented the collapse of democracy and the collapse of humanity in the world.”
“I mean I want a happy ending in this story,” she said, “and it can still happen.”
Both Republicans and Democrats are wary of the notion of the sending of American troops in Ukraine.
President Biden on Saturday approved $350 million in additional military aid to Ukraine. Reports say the White House also wants Congress to approve an additional $6.4 billion in aid to the country.
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