By Staff, Agencies

US War Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers in a phone call that Russian forces that entered from Belarus were now less than 20 miles [about 30 km] from the capital Kiev, the day after the war in Ukraine began.

Austin on Thursday spoke with 15 NATO allies and European counterparts on the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said in a statement.

He said that the US has deployed an additional 15,000 troops in recent days and weeks, with more than 90,000 US service members now stationed in Europe.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed that Kiev "may well be under siege" in what US officials see as a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime.

Blinken has said in television interviews that he is convinced that Russia intends to overthrow the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to "reconstitute the Soviet empire."

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy on Friday denounced the firing of Russian missiles on Kiev at dawn, leaving at least three wounded.

"Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kiev. Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of everywhere," Dmytro Kouleba said in a message on his Twitter account.