Russia suppressed the invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital on Friday. unleash air strikes attack cities and military bases and send troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the post-Cold War global security order.
Explosions sounded in Kiev before dawn as Western leaders planned an emergency meeting and the Ukrainian president pleaded for international assistance.
The nature of the blasts wasn’t immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened after a day’s war that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had knowledge of “subversive groups” encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kiev “may be under siege”, which US officials believe was an impudent attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin. disband the government and replace it with its own regime.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers in a phone call on Thursday evening that Russian mechanized forces entering from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kiev.
Attack, expected The war waged by the United States and its Western allies for weeks and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and successive sanctions marks Europe’s largest ground war since World War II.
On the first day of the attack, Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases, and Ukrainian officials said they lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
When explosions were heard in Kiev, civilians piled into trains and cars to escape, and patrons of a hotel were directed to a bunker.
“Russia has taken a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and will not give up its freedom,” said Zelenskyy. His grip on power grew weaker, calling for harsher sanctions Thursday than those imposed by Western allies and ordering a full 90-day military mobilization.
Ukraine’s president promised to stay in place
Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 “heroes”, including 10 officers, were killed and 316 injured. Among the dead were border guards on Zmiinyi Island in the Odessa region, which had been captured by the Russians.
Zelensky promised to stay in Kiev while his troops fought the Russian invaders who were advancing towards the capital.
“(The enemy) has marked me as target number one,” Zelenskiy warned in a video message, as heavy fighting has been reported on multiple fronts. “My family is target number two. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the president.”
“I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine.”
He concluded his emotional speech by saying, “The fate of the country depends entirely on our army, our security forces, all our defenders.” He also said the country had heard from Moscow that they “wanted to talk about Ukraine’s neutral status”.
US imposes new sanctions
Biden was due to meet with other leaders of NATO governments at what the White House described as an “extraordinary virtual summit” to discuss Ukraine on Friday morning.
US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin has “chosen this war” and has a “sinister” view of the world where nations are forcibly taking what they want. Other countries have also announced sanctions or said they will soon.
“Naked aggression has always been about Putin’s imperial aspirations – bullying Russia’s neighbors through oppression and corruption, forcibly changing borders, and ultimately choosing war for no reason,” Biden said.
Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government. GIS He said Putin wanted to “restore the Soviet empire” and that Kiev was already “threatened and may be under siege”.
Biden said the US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech industries, but the sanctions are designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russia’s oil and natural gas exports are vital energy resources for Europe.
Zelenskyy urged the US and the West to go further and remove the Russians from the SWIFT system, an important financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House was reluctant to cut Russia out of SWIFT immediately, fearing it could cause huge economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West.
Fearing a Russian attack on the capital, thousands of people went underground as night fell, blocking Kiev’s metro stations.
It felt almost jolly at times. The families ate. The children played. The adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags, dogs, or crossword puzzles—anything to ease the waiting and the long night.
But fatigue was evident for many reasons. And worries.
“No one believed that this war would begin and they would take Kiev directly,” said Anton Mironov, who was waiting for the night at one of the former Soviet metro stations. “I often feel tired. None of it feels real.”
The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, most of them on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground attack.
Ukrainian and US officials stated that Russian forces attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, from the east; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north.
Zelenskyy, who previously cut diplomatic relations with Moscow and declared martial law, called on global leaders to say, “If you don’t help us now, if you don’t offer strong assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will put your feet on the ground.” door.”
While Biden said he has no plans to meet with Putin, the Russian leader had what the Kremlin describes as a “serious and cordial exchange” with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Both sides claimed that the other had destroyed some of their aircraft and military equipment, but little of this could be verified.
Chernobyl takeover
Presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press that hours after the invasion began, Russian forces had taken control of the now disused Chernobyl factory and the surrounding exclusion zone after fierce fighting.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency added that Ukraine had briefed it on the takeover and added that “there were no casualties or destruction in the industrial area”.
The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the power plant 80 miles north of Kiev exploded, sending a radioactive cloud to Europe. The damaged reactor was then covered with a protective shell to prevent leaks.
Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, wrote on Facebook that personnel at the Chernobyl power plant were “taken hostage”. The White House said it was “outrageous” at the news about the detentions.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense issued an update stating that although the facility was “possibly hijacked”, the country’s forces had halted Russia’s advance towards Chernihiv and it was unlikely that Russia would achieve its planned Day One military objectives.
While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the US and NATO partners showed no signs of sending troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict.
Nato has reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the United States has deployed additional forces in Germany to support NATO.
European authorities declared the country’s airspace a zone of active conflict.
After weeks of rejecting invasion plans, Putin launched an operation in a country the size of Texas that was increasingly leaning towards the democratic West and moving away from Moscow’s dominance.
Earlier this week, the autocratic leader made it clear he saw no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of a possible wider conflict in the vast area once ruled by the Soviet Union. Putin has rejected plans to invade Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain unclear.
Ukrainians were asked not to panic and to take shelter.
“Until the last moment I didn’t believe this was going to happen. I just pushed those thoughts away,” said the horrified Anna Dovnya in Kiev, watching the soldiers and police remove shrapnel from a detonated bullet. “We’ve Lost All Our Faith”
As social media proliferated a number of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened in the field.
Russia and Ukraine have made conflicting claims about the damage they have done. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed a large number of Ukrainian airbases, military installations and drones.
He confirmed the loss of one of the Su-25 attack jets, blaming it “pilot error” and said an An-26 transport plane crashed due to technical failure, killing all its crew. He did not say how many people were on board.
Russia said it wasn’t targeting cities, but journalists saw the destruction in many civilian areas.
Pakistan tries to evacuate its citizens
A number of countries, including Pakistan, have taken action to ensure the safety of their citizens in the war-torn country. Dr Noel Israel Khokhar, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ukraine, said the government is working on the safe evacuation of all Pakistani citizens trapped in the country.
According to a report by[Radio Pakistan]The Ambassador confirmed that there are a total of 1,500 Pakistanis in Ukraine, including 500 students who have been asked to move to safer places.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s Embassy in Ukraine said in a statement on Twitter, “Ukraine’s airspace is closed and the Embassy is in contact with Pakistani students who could not leave earlier according to the advice given to them.”