Kyiv locals go back to basics to stop 64km-long Russian convoy
Locals in Kyiv have begun to barricade and blockade the capital's streets to hamper the advance of a massive 64-kilometre long Russian army convoy.
Ukrainians are parking trams, buses and large vehicles across key routes into the capital to counter an attempted occupation of Kyiv.
"We have a lot of presents" in store for the Russians, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a recent interview.
The convoy of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles, which sometimes spans three vehicles wide across the entire road and up to 64-km long, is being tracked from space. Maxar Technologies / AFP
READ MORE: What we know about 64km-long Russian convoy headed for Kyiv
"It's not sweet. It's very painful."
Thanks to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies, the world has been transfixed by an ominous and enormous convoy that has been slowly snaking towards Kyiv.
In the convoy, which sometimes spans three-wide, are Russian tanks, armoured vehicles, towed artillery and possibly up to 15,000 soldiers.
But for days now the convoy's progress has mysteriously slowed to an imperceptible crawl, with US intelligence suggesting the behemoth has been plagued by logistical failures including food and fuel shortages.
There are also some suggestions parts of the convoy could have come under attack from Ukrainian forces.
What is certain is that it is headed for Kyiv, in preparation for Russian forces to encircle and occupy Ukraine's biggest city, home to around 2.8 million residents.
In Kyiv, scores of men have been registering their names with government officials so they can be given guns and weapons to fight the Russians.
Footage inside the city has also shown men and women making Molotov cocktails to prepare for war.
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Members of a Territorial Defence unit play checkers with molotov cocktails while guarding a barricade after curfew on the outskirts of eastern Kyiv. Getty
Members of the Ukrainian military wait at a forward position on the eastern frontline near Kalynivka village as Russian forces advance on Kyiv. Getty
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Former NATO commander and retired US Navy admiral James Stavridis said Ukrainian forces should look to hit the convoy from the air, targeting fuel trucks and ammunition trucks.
"I call that 40-mile convoy, by the way, the biggest, fattest target in Ukraine," Mr Stavridis told US news outlet MSNBC.
Fighter jets "in the hands of the Ukrainians" could inflict serious damage on the convoy, he said, suggesting to strike "and watch that thing blow up."
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The sheer length of the convoy is massive and speaks to the amount of the military power the Russians have amassed to try and take Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP
Dramatic satellite images released by Maxar Technologies showed a massive 60+ kilometre long convoy of Russian military vehicles snaking along roadways northwest of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP
The Pentagon today rejected an offer from Poland to give the US its MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine.
Poland said it could deliver the jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany, but US officials are concerned fighter jets departing from a US and NATO base to fly into airspace contested with Russia would heighten tensions with Moscow.
Ukraine has been pleading for more warplanes from the US and its NATO allies.
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