Russian Forces Enter Ukraine Capital

This story has been updated with new developments. Russian forces have now entered Ukraine's capital—and authorities are urging residents to resist the invaders. A post on the Ministry of Defense's Facebook page asked the people of Kyiv "to inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralize the enemy," the Guardian reports. Missiles hit the city before dawn and by midmorning, the Ukrainian military was fighting Russian forces in the residential district of Obolon, around 6 miles from the city center, the BBC reports. The BBC says it has verified videos of Russian armored vehicles moving through the district. Ukrainian forces have set up positions on bridges, and witnesses say blasts and gunfire can be heard in the city center. In other developments:

• Plane shot down over capital. Reuters reports that Ukrainian authorities say a Russian aircraft was shot down over Kyiv overnight. Authorities say the aircraft crashed into a building, injuring eight people.

• Comparison to 1941. "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, wrote on Twitter, per NBC. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany."
• Kremlin denies plan to occupy Ukraine. At a media briefing Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia plans to "demilitarize" Ukraine but not occupy it. When asked by a BBC reporter how Russia could justify the invasion of a democratic neighbor, Lavrov denied Ukraine was a democratic country and pointed to past Western military actions in countries including Yugoslavia and Iraq.
• Offer of non-aligned status. Lavrov said an offer from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss non-aligned status for the country will be analyzed by the Kremlin, but he believes Zelensky is "simply lying," the AP reports.
• Zelensky addresses nation. In a televised address, Zelensky said that Ukrainians would have to fight the invading forces instead of expecting foreign forces to come to the rescue, the New York Times reports. "We are left to our own devices in defense of our state," he said. "Who is ready to fight together with us? Honestly, I do not see such." The president described himself as "Target No. 1" of the Russian invaders.

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)