Ukrainian President was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride”, - according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelenskyy as upbeat.

Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.