Russia started the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
As war rages in Ukraine and Russian forces pound Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles, heartwarming stories of strength and resilience in the face of adversity are doing rounds on social media. Several videos of Ukrainians finding strength in their national anthem have surfaced. In one of the viral videos, a teary-eyed woman can be seen cleaning debris from her home after a missile attack damaged her residential building. She picks up shards of glass from her damaged window while singing the Ukrainian national anthem, choking up towards the end of the video.
In another video clip shared by a Ukrainian diplomat last night, purportedly from the outskirts of capital Kyiv, someone is playing the Ukrainian national anthem on a trumpet. The video ends with people in the neighbourhood shouting "glory to Ukraine".
"One of Kyiv's outskirts waiting for invaders. All of a sudden, someone plays Ukrainian anthem on a trumpet. And from everywhere: "Glory to Ukraine!" #StandWithUkriane," Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former Ambassador to Austria, posted on Twitter along with a video clip of an empty street with the anthem playing in the background.
Even as Russian forces mount a consistent attack on Kyiv from all directions, Ukraine has rejected Russian suggestions that it was refusing to negotiate a ceasefire but said it was not ready to accept "unacceptable conditions" after the Kremlin accused the country of prolonging the military conflict.
Russia's invasion force is being slowed and frustrated by unexpectedly stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops, keeping them outside Kyiv, a senior US defence official has said, according to news agency AFP.
The Russian army has been ordered to broaden its Ukraine advance "from all directions" after Ukraine said it had repulsed an attack on capital Kyiv.