Ukraine President Foresees ‘New Stage of Terror’ as Russia Steps Up Strikes Near Kyiv

Cruise missiles slammed into an airport south of Kyiv, setting fire to an oil terminal and an ammunition depot, authorities said. Russian strikes also hit suburbs to the east and west and a drone crashed in the center of the city after being shot down, setting fire to a bank, officials said.

The stepped-up missile strikes and bombings came as Russia repositioned its ground forces for what was expected to be a new push to encircle the capital, Western officials said. For more than two weeks, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold off Russian attempts to push into Kyiv, while attacking Russian supply lines and destroying tanks and other armored vehicles.

Armaments supplied to Ukraine by the U.S. and its European allies—especially antitank and antiaircraft weapons—have played an important role in checking Russian advances. U.S. Vice President

Kamala Harris

has said new weapons are being delivered daily to help Ukrainians defend themselves.

In a video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced what he said was the kidnapping by Russian forces of the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol. On Saturday, a fresh round of Russian airstrikes hit on the outskirts of Kyiv. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

On Saturday, President Biden authorized $200 million in new security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total authorized U.S. security assistance to the nation this year to $1.2 billion, according to a White House official.

Oryx, a blog that verifies destroyed military equipment via open-source imagery and intelligence, said Ukraine has destroyed or captured hundreds of Russian tanks and armored vehicles since the beginning of the conflict, and shot down a dozen planes and 14 helicopters and five drones.

On Saturday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister,

Sergei Ryabkov,

warned that Moscow would consider arms deliveries to Ukraine as legitimate targets for the Russian armed forces.

“We have warned what kind of consequences the thoughtless transfer of weapons, such as portable air-defense systems and antitank systems, into Ukraine could have,” he said, speaking on state television. “It is the U.S. that is the source of maximum tension.”