Russian Strikes Intensify Near Kyiv as Ukraine’s President Foresees ‘New Stage of Terror’

The stepped-up missile strikes and bombings came as Russia repositioned its ground forces for what was expected to be a new push to encircle the capital, Western officials said. For more than two weeks, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold off Russian attempts to push into Kyiv, while attacking Russian supply lines and destroying tanks and other armored vehicles.

Elsewhere in the country, battle lines remained relatively static, with Russian forces trying to assert control over cities and other areas they have sought to occupy.

In a video address released early Saturday, Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky

denounced what he described as the abduction by Russian forces of the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol, who had refused to cooperate with occupying troops and continued to display a Ukrainian flag in his office.

The mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was at work when Russians took him away with a plastic bag over his head, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.

Areas no longer controlled by Ukraine as of Friday

Direction of invasion forces

Controlled by or allied to Russia

Primary refugee crossing locations

Chernobyl

Not in operation

Ukraine territory, recognized by Putin as independent

Controlled by

separatists

Areas no longer controlled by Ukraine as of Friday

Direction of invasion forces

Controlled by or allied to Russia

Ukraine territory, recognized by Putin as independent

Primary refugee crossing locations

Chernobyl

Not in operation

Controlled by

separatists

Areas no longer controlled by Ukraine as of Friday

Direction of invasion forces

Controlled by or allied to Russia

Primary refugee crossing locations

Ukraine territory, recognized by Putin as independent

Chernobyl

Not in operation

Controlled by

separatists

Areas no longer controlled by Ukraine as of Friday

Direction of invasion forces

Controlled by or allied to Russia

Primary refugee crossing locations

Ukraine territory, recognized by Putin as independent

Areas no longer controlled by Ukraine as of Friday

Direction of invasion forces

Controlled by or allied to Russia

Primary refugee crossing locations

Ukraine territory, recognized by Putin as independent

“They did not find collaborators who wanted to hand over the city and the power to invaders,” Mr. Zelensky said in the video. “Therefore they had to switch to a new stage of terror when they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of the legitimate local authorities.”

While Russia’s ground forces regroup, Russian airstrikes have been pounding Ukrainian cities far from the front lines. Missiles hit airports Friday in the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk, where attacks have been rare since the beginning of the invasion.

In eastern Ukraine, three missiles landed in the city of Dnipro, where city officials said an apartment block and a kindergarten were destroyed.

While Russian troops have fought their way to the outskirts of Kyiv in a bid to topple the government, Ukrainian fighters have ambushed convoys along the way with Turkish-made drones and Western antitank munitions.

High casualties among top-echelon officers suggest they are taking unusual risks to prod stalled units forward, Western officials said.

On Friday, Ukrainian officials said the country’s forces killed Russian Maj. Gen. Andrey Kolesnikov, of Russia’s 29th Army, the third of his rank—the equivalent of a U.S. brigadier general—to die in fighting since the invasion began.

Ukraine released no details on his death, which hasn’t been confirmed by Moscow. Western officials said they have confirmed all three deaths. The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, Ukraine released drone footage of a column of Russian armored vehicles being destroyed as it made its way through a suburb of Kyiv.

Western officials suggested the relative lull in the Russian offensive around the capital was to lay low and reposition forces for a new push. The U.K. Defense Ministry said it is concerned Russia was trying to reset for a renewed attack in coming days, including an offensive against Kyiv.

Still, Russian forces have made advances along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, surrounding the city of Mariupol. The daily bombardment of Mariupol, including a strike on a maternity hospital, has left the city of more than 400,000 without food, clean water or electricity.

Russia’s invasion has triggered the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. The number of people fleeing the war has reached 2.5 million, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday. Another two million people are displaced inside Ukraine, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

Filippo Grandi

said in a

Twitter

post.

In Moscow, the Kremlin signaled plans to move more forces toward its western border, and funnel what it described as volunteers from the Middle East to fight in Ukraine. Russia has been recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat as its invasion is poised to expand deeper into Ukrainian cities.

Western officials are increasingly worried that Moscow will resort to deploying chemical, biological or nuclear weapons after struggling to make headway in the war.

Russia took its claims of U.S.-funded chemical and biological weapons work in Ukraine to the U.N. on Friday, calling a special meeting of the Security Council. Washington and Kyiv have repeatedly denied the claims and have warned that Moscow could be sowing disinformation to serve as a pretext for Moscow to use such weapons itself.

“I’m not going to speak about the intelligence, but Russia would pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons,” President Biden said at the White House on Friday.

Write to Alan Cullison at alan.cullison@wsj.com