The explosion in Ukraine came a day after Russia’s offensive, after a “full-scale” invasion on Thursday that killed 137 people in one of Europe’s worst crises since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Ukraine on Thursday led to military strikes on major cities including the capital, Kiev, in an unpleasant surprise. Armed forces launched attacks on land, air and sea. Images of destruction flooded social media as world leaders voiced their fears and urged restraint and calm. More than 1,700 people have been arrested in Russia amid massive anti-Kiev war protests.
Here are ten updates on Russia’s attack on Ukraine:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday pledged to stay in Kiev as the capital faces one of the biggest fighting in Europe since World War II. “(The enemy) designated me as the first target. My family is the second target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine, according to Reuters. .” He demanded silence on Thursday when Ukraine was awakened by air raid sirens.
- “Russia has gone down a wicked path, but Ukraine is defending itself and will not give up freedom,” Zelensky claimed in a tweet. He said in a video address that 137 “heroes”, including 10 officers, were killed and 316 wounded.
- India is also trying to bring about 16,000 Ukrainians to the safety of their home country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone call with Putin on Thursday night. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drawn up a list of evacuation routes by land.
- The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia, although President Joe Biden acknowledged that sanctions may not be enough to stop Putin, saying: “Putin was the aggressor. Putin chose this war. Now he and his country will face the consequences. He described it as a “dark vision of the world” with a false dream of rebuilding the Soviet Union.
- New U.S. sanctions target Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen. Five major banks – including state-backed Sberbank and VTB – and Russia’s largest bank Sberbank made the list.
- On the first day, as the attack rapidly escalated, Russia targeted Ukrainian state and military installations, forcing Kiev to close its airspace — satellite imagery from Europe showed what appeared to be a large hole over Ukraine, while other countries were operating normally.
- Ukraine lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the 1986 disaster. The White House said there were credible reports that the hostages were being held at the nuclear power plant.
- Global markets wobbled on Thursday as Russia launched a military offensive. Wholesale prices for everything from gasoline to wheat are reportedly rising in the United States.
- Global condemnation ensued, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calling the Russian attack a “brutal act of war” and stressing that Moscow had undermined peace on the European continent. On Thursday, Putin warned that if the West intervened, there would be “the most serious consequences in the history of the world”.
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to isolate Russia from UK financial markets. On his sanctions list, he froze the assets of all major Russian banks. “Now we see him for what he is – a bloody aggressor who believes in imperial conquest,” Johnson said of Putin.
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