Ukrainian forces and thousands of freshly recruited volunteers regained control of Kyiv's streets after Russian troops and undercover units in civilian clothes tried to enter the city in the early hours of Saturday, while Russian airstrikes, airborne landings and armored advances continued throughout the country.

On the third day of the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed with the aim of overthrowing Ukraine's elected government and ending its alignment with the West, Ukrainian forces fought fiercely on all fronts, with each side asserting it had inflicted heavy losses on the other.

President Volodymyr Zelensky recorded a video address from the street outside the presidential headquarters in Kyiv, urging Ukrainians to keep fighting and denying Russian reports that he had called on his forces to lay down arms.

"Truth is on our side. This is our land, our country, our children, and we will keep defending them all," he said. "Glory to Ukraine."