(FreedomBeacon.com)- When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Thursday, Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan offered a live update of the situation on the ground in Kyiv. During his report, the sound of explosions could be heard.
Watch Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan’s report HERE.
Since Thursday, Russian forces have encircled Kyiv, but have been prevented from entering the city due to fierce Ukrainian resistance.
However, on Monday (Tuesday Kyiv time), a massive column of Russian troops began closing in on the Ukraine capital, prompting US officials to warn that the sheer size of the convoy would be able to break the back of the Ukrainian resistance that has thus far prevented the capture of Kyiv.
Reports say the Russian military convoy, made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery, and other logistical vehicles, measured 40-miles long. By Tuesday, the convoy reached the outskirts of Kyiv, and satellite images revealed plumes of smoke rising from homes and buildings along the convoy route.
US officials briefed lawmakers on Monday warning that this second wave of Russian troops, likely consolidating Russian positions within Ukraine, would easily overcome the Ukrainian resistance.
Lawmakers were told Russia will likely lay siege to Kyiv, which would only lead to ugly scenes of urban warfare.
Already more than 400 civilians have been killed or wounded since Thursday and Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of committing war crimes by targeting civilians.
On Monday, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, told reporters in Washington that Russia used a vacuum bomb in Ukraine, in violation of international law.
A vacuum bomb is a thermobaric weapon that absorbs the oxygen in a given space causing a significant blast capable of vaporizing humans.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, who was already investigating Russia for possible war crimes in Ukraine, said he was opening an investigation into Markarova’s claims “as rapidly as possible.”
