Update (4:28pmET): The US and NATO are apparently doubling down: despite Ukraine seeing overwhelming Russian forced used to subdue the country (along with Belarussian troops), Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister has announced Kiev will receive "new defensive weapons" from Washington.
Simultaneously, Ukraine's defense minister says Russia is "preparing a new wave of attacks, including air strikes."
However, it appears the debate inside the administration may be continuing on the extent it wants to go on provoking Russia further, after Biden earlier in the day made clear the US won't send troops to Ukraine to engage Russia.
This also as Ukraine's government is touting that its arming a local resistance made up of civilians and military veterans...
Some evidence has emerged in the last half-day of fighting that in some places the Russians may not be encountering much resistance as they approach Ukrainian forces and bases.
However, one major reported reversal happened in the last hours at the major Hostomel airfield near Kiev, which is reportedly back in Ukrainian military control after fierce fighting. Russia took it early in the day after a major aerial assault.
Ukraine's government has confirmed that the Chernobyl power plant site has been seized by Russian forces. "The Prime Minister made the announcement in a televised briefing, saying Russian troops had taken control of the zone and the nuclear power plant," Bloomberg confirms.
"The facility is located about 80 miles (129km) north of Kyiv, several miles south of the Belarus border. Holding Chernobyl would provide Russian troops a staging point that couldn’t be shelled," the report adds, in reference to the potential for dangerous radioactive fallout given the permanent presence of nuclear waste there. Speculation remains that should the site come under direct shelling, there could be nuclear contamination released into the air, potentially impacting other areas in Europe.
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