We are all here defending our independence: Ukraine Prez Volodymyr Zelensky vows in self-shot video

"We're all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We're all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way," Zelensky said standing outside the presidency building.

Wearing olive green military-style clothing and standing with his prime minister, chief of staff and other senior aides, Zelensky appeared to be responding to pressure from Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

This comes after Putin called on the Ukrainian army to remove leadership in Kyiv.

Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to "take power in your own hands."

"It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to leadership in Kyiv led by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Earlier in the day, the Russian forces entered the northern districts of the Ukrainian capital in a desperate bid to capture Kyiv as the besieged government of Ukraine urged citizens to make Molotov cocktails and defend the city.

Pedestrians could be seen running for safety as small arms fire and explosions erupted in the Obolonsky district in Kyiv's north.

Larger blasts could be heard in the city centre, where residents spent their first night under curfew and the sounds of bombing, said reports.