KYIV, Feb 25, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's army said Friday it was fighting

invading Russian forces north of the capital Kyiv, as Moscow pressed on with
its advance on the pro-Western country for a second day.

   Russian forces reached the outskirts of Kyiv on Friday, with the
government saying the city was hit by "horrific rocket strikes" in the early
hours.

   "Airborne assault troops of the Ukrainian armed forces are fighting in the
areas of the settlements of Dymer and Invankiv," Kyiv's army said on its
Facebook page.

   Dymer is around 45 kilometres (28 miles) north of Kyiv, while Ivankiv is
about 60 kilometres northwest of the Ukrainian capital.

   The military said it had stopped advancing Russian forces at the Teteriv
River, a tributary of the Dnieper River that flows through Kyiv, adding that
a bridge over it was destroyed.

   The army also said it had retaken the Gostomel airfield, with reports that
it had been captured by Russian forces the day before.

   AFP was not able to immediately verify this.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Moscow's forces
were also targeting civilian areas and praised his countrymen for their
"heroism".

   "They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is
another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in
which they operate," Zelensky said in a video.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military
operation against Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, confirming
widespread fears Moscow was planning to invade its western neighbour.