The fighting between Ukraine and Russia has reached the capital Kyiv. This comes as Russia steps up its invasion offensive, according to The United Kingdom’s

The Guardian newspaper.

Russian forces have closed in Ukrainian positions in the capital. Russia, according to The Guardian, is ready to talk with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky

As this developed, on Feb. 26, 2022, Zelensky appealed for international help for his beleaguered side.

Russian forces advanced into the capital’s outskirts, following a rocket attack early morning of Feb. 25, 2022. Ukrainian forces set up defensive positions at key areas in Kyiv as the soldiers’ movements were being monitored by anxious residents, The Guardian reported.

The Guardian said that a day after Russia launched a massive invasion of its south-western neighbor, Russia’s defense ministry claimed it had cut Kyiv off from the west and seized a strategic airport at Hostomel, on the outskirts. This has allowed Moscow to airlift troops into the frontlines.

Kyiv was hit with missile fire early Friday, according to CNN.

Russian president Vladimir Putin called on Ukrainians to overthrow their government, whose leaders he described as “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.

He warned that other countries which will attempt to interfere would be met with “consequences that you have never experienced in your history.”

US President Joe Biden said the world will “hold Russia accountable” for the crisis in Ukraine.

WEST REALIZES RUSSIA IS LARGELY IMMUNE TO SANCTIONS

The West, led by the US, retaliated against Russia not via guns but by economic sanctions.

However, the Western nations have quickly realised that unless they launch a full-scale economic embargo, Putin made sure that his country would be able to withstand the effects of sanctions in the short-term, The Guardian said in its report.

This means that the sanctions put in place over the past couple of days by the US and its allies are unlikely to have any significant effect on the Russian economy or its financial stability.

Russia will start to feel the impact of the sanctions if it is booted out from the international payments system, SWIFT, while is also banning purchases of Russian oil and gas, according to The Guardian.