ITV News witnesses fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops closing in on capital of Kyiv
Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo reports from Kyiv, where the sound of gunfire has echoed through the capital on a day where Russian spies and saboteurs were seen in a district on the outskirts of the city
ITV News has seen gun battles between Russian fighters and Ukrainians in the suburbs of Kyiv as soldiers defend their homes against troops quickly closing in on the city.
Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo witnessed Ukrainian soldiers taking cover next to a river in the Ukrainian capital amid the intense rattle of explosions and gunfire as the two sides faced-off over a bridge into Kyiv.
The bulk of the Russian troops are just 30 miles from the city centre and Ukrainian officials expect soldiers to launch a tank attack on Kyiv in a bid to overthrow the government.
The fighting ITV News has witnessed is sporadic and occurring within pockets of the city, thought to be from Russian forces who are advancing ahead of the rest to scope out the situation.
However, it is thought Russia's attempts to take the capital are not taking place as quickly as Vladimir Putin had hoped.
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But thousands of Ukrainian civilians had already taken up arms to defend their homeland, with residents being urged to make home-made petrol bombs to "neutralise the enemy".
On the outskirts of the city, a volunteer army gathered with weapons, anxiously waiting for orders to use them.
"I am here in order to protect my family, my country and my region," one volunteer told Rohit Kachroo before vowing that Russian soldiers will "never" claim the centre of the capital.
His comments came after a disturbing video emerged in which an elderly man was crushed in his car by a Russian tank which appeared to swerve into it from the opposite side of a road in Kyiv.
The driver survived and was later plucked from the wreckage of his vehicle by locals using an axe and a crowbar to loosen the vehicle's door.
Ukrainian officials have said that two Russian soldiers were killed in the firefight that followed.
The violent scenes have prompted many Kyiv locals to flee, with the United Nations Human Rights office verifying at least 127 civilian casualties across the country so far.
More deaths on both sides were seen on Friday, but no definite tally has yet been provided.
But, as ITV News Editor Emma Burrows notes, much hangs in the balance as official documents - revealing how Russia is preparing for casualties - indicate that the Kremlin may not have expected such resistance from its neighbour.