Kyiv mayor says Russia is massing troops closer to the capital

FILE PHOTO: Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko speaks with journalists during the opening of the first Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces recruitment centre in central Kyiv, Ukraine, February 2, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Russia is gathering troops closer and closer to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital's mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday.

"We are preparing and will defend Kyiv!," he added. "Kyiv stands and will stand."

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Andrew Heavens)