It’s 6 a.m. in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know

News Desk March 27, 2022 in EUROPE, UKRAINE WAR, WORLD Tagged Russia, Ukraine, War, world - 3 Minutes

US President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” during a speech in Poland and a Ukrainian city, which until now has been largely spared from Russian assault, was hit by missiles on Saturday.

Here are the latest developments in the war on Ukraine:

Missiles strike Lviv: The city’s Mayor Andriy Sadovyi called for air defense of Ukraine after a series of Russian missiles struck a fuel storage facility and a military infrastructure site in the western Ukrainian city, close to the Polish border. At least five people were reportedly injured in Lviv, which been previously spared the worst of Russia’s brutal onslaught, local officials said.

Biden’s speech: In neighboring Poland, Biden declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” during a sweeping speech that called on democracies to stand together. The White House said afterward that it was not a call for regime change. The US President also said that Russia has “strangled democracy” in its invasion of Ukraine and warned Putin to not “even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory.” He also labeled Putin a “butcher” after visiting with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw earlier in the day. The US also said it intends to provide “an additional $100 million in civilian security assistance” to Ukraine.

Zelensky calls for more aid: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his plea for international partners to step up their military assistance, saying his country only asks for 1% of NATO’s tanks and planes. In a Saturday video message, Zelensky said the need to strengthen common security in Europe was raised during his two conversations with Polish President Andrezj Duda Saturday.

Ukrainian counterattacks: Ukrainian officials say the country’s military has retaken several villages from Russian troops in a series of counterattacks. Kharkiv’s regional administrator said a number of villages around Malaya Rogan were retaken by Ukrainian forces and video shows Ukrainian troops in control of Vilkhivka, one of the settlements. The success of Ukrainian forces around Kharkiv has been mirrored further north, near the city of Sumy, where Ukrainian troops have liberated a number of settlements, according to videos geolocated and verified by CNN. A separate counterattack in the south also led to the liberation of two villages from Russian forces northwest of Mariupol, according to the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration.

Captured city: Zelensky said Russia will not “subdue” the captured Slavutych, after Russian forces entered the city Saturday following days of fighting. The city was built to house workers of the nearby Chornobyl nuclear power plant and hundreds of locals amassed in the city square protesting the arrival of the troops. Russian forces briefly detained the city’s mayor but eventually released him, according to a statement from Ukrainian political party Sluha Narodu.

Evacuations: Two seriously injured children and an infant with pneumonia were among 5,208 people evacuated Saturday, the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said. Among them were 4,331 residents of the besieged city of Mariupol, who reached the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. It came as Ukrainian authorities said bus convoys trying to evacuate civilians were being stopped and held by Russian forces, as part of what they claimed to be a pressure campaign to force some residents to go to Russia.