The latest on Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine

The Russian military forces tighten their siege on Kiev and fighting is already taking place in some neighborhoods of the capital, where there was also a missile attack on Friday morning, according to the Ukrainian authorities, who called for more international sanctions against Moscow and assured “do everything everything possible” to resist.

The offensive, which began on Thursday, has already left more than 100 dead and some 100,000 displaced, according to official Ukrainian figures, and Russian troops are advancing fast. According to the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, civilian areas have become a target and his country feels “alone” before an international community that has not reacted firmly enough.

This Friday the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky called for a face-to-face dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who hopes that Ukraine will not join NATO and maintain its neutral status.

20:29 Explosions resound in Kiev

In Kiev, explosions have been heard that, according to local authorities, are due to Russia trying to attack a thermal power plant, while in Vasilkov, about 37 kilometers from the city, a tough battle is being fought, according to the Armed Forces. .

He explained that the “enemy is trying to attack the CHP-6 plant near Troieshchyna”, in the north of the capital.

“The Armed Forces give battle,” he said.

Ukraine also reported the shooting down of a transport plane carrying ‘150 Russian paratroopers’.

19:35 Zelensky calls to defend Kiev tooth and nail

The Ukrainian president called on his compatriots early Saturday morning to defend Kiev, the capital, from an imminent attack by the Russian troops who invaded the country on Thursday.

“We cannot lose the capital. He speaks to our defenders, men and women on all fronts: tonight, the enemy is going to use all of his might to break through our defenses in the most vile, harsh, and inhuman way. Tonight, they are going to try an attack,” Zelensky said in a video posted on the presidential website.

18:26 Hungary offers to host negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjaro explained that he had called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and the director of the Ukrainian presidential administration Andriy Yermak.

“I have proposed that the discussions take place in Budapest, a safe place” for the two delegations, he declared in a video posted on his Facebook page.

“They thanked me for the offer and said they were going to study it,” added the minister. “We hope that an agreement will be found to start negotiations in the next few hours or days,” he insisted.

18:10 Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria close their airspace to Russian planes

Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria announced on Friday that they were closing their airspace to Russian airlines following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The closure will apply from midnight,” Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller declared on Twitter. Similar announcements were made by the Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka and the Bulgarian Transport Ministry.

17:45 Russia vetoes resolution deploring “aggression” on Ukraine

Russia vetoed this Friday a Security Council resolution promoted by the United States and Albania to deplore Russian “aggression” in Ukraine, which had the abstention of China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

The resolution received the favorable vote of 11 of the 15 members, but the right to veto of Russia, one of the five permanent members of the highest UN body, along with the United States, China, France and Great Britain, left a dead letter the text despite the fact that it had been softened in the previous hours to “guarantee” abstentions and prevent these three countries from voting against it, according to a diplomat.

15:43 Russia-Ukraine dialogue, place to be defined

The Ukrainian authorities proposed to Russia to talk tomorrow, Saturday, about the possible negotiations between the parties and did not want to advance today on that matter, said the Russian foreign spokeswoman, Maria Zajárova.

“The Ukrainian side refused to negotiate (today). The representatives of the Kiev regime proposed to address this matter tomorrow,” Zajárova was quoted as saying by the RIA Nóvosti agency.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that Ukraine is avoiding sitting at the negotiating table after Moscow accepted Kiev’s proposal and suggested Minsk, the Belarusian capital, as the venue for the talks.

According to Peskov, Ukraine proposed Warsaw as an alternative location for dialogue after which it “paused” and “broke off communication”.

14:22 Shelter for displaced Ukrainians

The international community is preparing to welcome refugees and displaced persons from the war in Ukraine shortly, in a figure that the UN places between one and five million people.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is already preparing contingency plans “for the departure of a population of one to three million people to Poland, and one to five million considering all neighboring countries,” he said this Friday. UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Afshan Khan.

13:07 NATO says leaders agree to send rapid response troops

NATO announced this Friday that it has begun to deploy elements of its Response Force in the eastern part of the Alliance, for the first time in the context of collective defense, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“There should be no room for misunderstanding: we are going to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory,” said Allied Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the end of a videoconference summit of Alliance leaders, convened urgently. in the face of Moscow’s aggression against its neighbour.

12:21 Allied leaders hold emergency summit over war in Ukraine

NATO leaders assured this Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine is a “terrible strategic mistake” that his country will pay for “for years”, and affirmed that they will continue to carry out “the necessary deployments” to guarantee strong and credible deterrence and defense across the Alliance, “now and in the future”.

11:46 Putin calls the Ukrainian army to stage a coup

Despite the new sanctions announced by the European Union, Valdimir Putin seems determined to continue his offensive and achieve a regime change in Ukraine; this Friday, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.

“Take the power in your hands. It seems to me that it will be easier to negotiate between you and me,” Putin launched the Ukrainian army in an intervention on Russian television.

11:06 Chinese President Xi speaks with Putin and calls for “negotiation” with Ukraine

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Friday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine and was in favor of resolving the conflict through diplomatic channels.

China “supports Russia in resolving (the conflict) through negotiations with Ukraine,” state television CCTV reported from a summary of the two leaders’ phone call.

During the call with Xi, Putin noted that “the United States and NATO have long ignored our security concerns, which were reasonable, by disregarding their commitments. They advanced militarily to their east in defiance of our red lines.”

10:43 EU will freeze Vladimir Putin’s assets

The foreign ministers of the European Union reached an agreement this Friday to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, with a freeze of financial assets, and is already preparing a third package of sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.

09:23 Russia says its troops have blockaded Kiev from the west

Russian military units have blockaded the Ukrainian capital from the west, the Russian Defense Ministry reported today.

The military report, published on Telegram, added that Russian troops “continue to fulfill their missions in the Kiev region and in other cities.”

08:15 UN indicates that at least 25 civilians have died in Ukraine

The United Nations Human Rights Office today warned of an increase in civilian casualties in the current Russian offensive on Ukraine, and said it had received information of at least 25 civilian deaths and 102 wounded by bombing, although it acknowledged that the real figure is surely older.

Most of the victims (23 dead and 91 injured) were reported in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government in the Donetsk, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkov, Kherson and Lugansk regions, the spokeswoman explained.

08:07 Russia will negotiate if Ukraine lays down its arms

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country is ready to negotiate if Ukraine “lays down its arms.”

In a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked him to “negotiate” with Ukraine.

The Pope Francis also intervened in the conflict and met with the Russian ambassador at the Vatican to express “his concern”.

08:02 Woman escapes unharmed after accident with Russian tank

A Russian tank was filmed crashing into and crushing a civilian car driven by an elderly woman in a suburb of Ukraine’s capital Kiev. The incident, recorded from multiple angles, saw the armored vehicle driving on a main road that ran through a residential area.

Miraculously, reports said the driver of the car survived the shocking crash, with additional video showing people desperately working to free her from the wreckage. The incident occurred as Russian troops closed in on the Ukrainian capital after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion on Thursday morning.

07:57 Request to civilians to defend themselves

The Ukrainian army said on Friday that Russian troops are approaching Kiev from the north and east and the Defense Ministry said that there is fighting in a neighborhood in the north of the city, called Obolon, and called on its inhabitants to take up arms. .

“We ask citizens to inform us of enemy movements, make Molotov cocktails and neutralize the occupier,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ukrainian troops also said they are fighting Russian armored units in two towns, Dymer and Ivankiv, located 45 and 80 kilometers north of Kiev.

Although they have faced resistance in some areas, the Ukrainian forces admit that the Russian troops find a way to continue approaching the capital, where three million inhabitants live but which was deserted on Friday.

07:33 Zelensky asks Europeans with combat experience to go fight in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Friday called on Europeans with “combat experience” to fight for Ukraine in the face of the threat of Russian forces.

“If you have combat experience in Europe and do not want to see the indecision of politicians, you can come to our country and join us in defending Europe, where it is most needed now,” Zelensky said in a statement released by his press office. .

06:15 Explosions near the Ukrainian capital

At dawn, Kiev registered two strong explosions, as AFP journalists were able to verify. “Horrible Russian missile shots over Kiev,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced on Twitter. According to official sources, there were three wounded in the attack.

“They said civilians weren’t targeted, but that’s another one of their lies… Tonight, they started shelling civilian neighborhoods. This reminds us of (the Nazi offensive of) 1941″, Volodimir Zelensky denounced this Friday in a video broadcast on social networks. (I)