Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for hours over a critical airfield just outside Kyiv

• Ukrainian and Russian armed forces have been fighting for control of an airfield just outside Kyiv.
• CNN footage showed Russian airborne troops on the ground as they engaged Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for hours over a critical airfield on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

Russian forces attacked and seized the Hostomel (Gostomel) airfield, a cargo airport near Kyiv that is also known as Antonov Airport, early Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse. Ukraine's leadership vowed to take it back, AFP added.

"The enemy paratroopers in Hostomel have been blocked, and troops have received an order to destroy them," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address.

Hostomel is in the northwestern suburbs of Kyiv, which could make it critical to the defense of the Ukrainian capital. Control of the strategic airport would allow Russia to quickly reinforce its fight with troops and supplies.

Matthew Chance, a CNN reporter who has been on the ground outside Kyiv, reported earlier Thursday that Russian airborne troops were engaged in a firefight with Ukrainian troops at the airfield.

"It shows us now for the first time just how close Russian forces have got towards the center of the Ukrainian capital," the reporter said.

Helicopters were seen flying low over the airfield, and witnesses nearby told AFP they saw fighter jets fire missiles at Ukrainian troops as the fighting began.

"Then there was shooting. It lasted three hours," one local resident told AFP. "Then three more jets flew in and they started shooting again."

While it was reported earlier Thursday that the Russian troops, who were identified by orange and black bands on the arm of their uniforms, had taken the airport, Ukraine may have since been able to retake the airfield.

An advisor to the Ukrainian president, after initially declaring prematurely that Ukraine had repelled the Russians, said on Facebook, "Hostomel Airport is ours," and, "Russian paratroopers have been destroyed." The exact status of the airfield could not be independently confirmed.