WAR IN UKRAINE: LAST
- Russia has said it does not want to negotiate with the Ukrainian government until the military operation is over
- He came after Zelensky called for a sit-in with Putin to end the fighting
- Putin says he would be ready to send a team of negotiators to meet with Zelensky in Belarus to help with the invasion
- The Russian president then called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow the “regime” in Kiev
- Chinese President Xi spoke with Putin on the phone and called for a diplomatic solution to the fighting
- Ukraine has said Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kiev in the past 24 hours
- Two children were killed in the attack in Kiev last night
- Ukraine bans men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to enlist in the armed forces
- Zelensky allowed anyone of all ages to join the armed forces and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the battle
- Russia is sending paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said
- Ukraine reports “abnormal” levels of radiation at the plant amid fears that the nuclear storage facility was breached during a battle, but Moscow said the readings were normal.
- Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised more support in Ukraine in the coming days
- Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning
UkraineRussia’s president has warned that the Russians intend to take Kiev overnight, urging their compatriots to oppose the expected attack, as Western authorities say the city appears surrounded.
Vladimir Greenaddressing the nation from a secret place in the capital, he had a terrible warning about his hostile and defiant people on Friday night.
“Russia will try its best to break our resistance,” he said in a video posted on social media.
“Tonight the enemy will begin to storm us.” We have to resist them! ‘
Zelenski said Chernigov, Simi, Kharkiv, Donbass and the south could also be attacked.
Vitali Klitschko, the former world heavyweight boxing champion and now mayor of Kiev, said his city was facing a “difficult night”.
The British Ministry of Defense said that it believes that Kiev, where 1.4 million people live, is close to the encirclement, while the Russians are advancing from all sides.
In New York on Friday night, a UN resolution calling on Moscow to stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw its troops was imposed by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin called on Ukrainian troops on Friday to overthrow their own government and begin talks with the Kremlin.
“It seems that it will be easier for us to come to terms with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis,” he said.
There were no signs that Ukrainian generals had been tempted, and Russia seemed somewhat surprised by the scale of Ukraine’s resistance and their ability to defend their country.
There was no doubt, however, that Russia’s enormous military superiority would soon take effect.
With 900,000 troops, Russia has the world’s fourth-largest army, and more than a decade of reforms and supplies have made it a dangerous adversary.
Ukraine has only 361,000 troops, although Zelensky on Thursday ordered full troop mobilization and banned men aged 18-60 from leaving the country, ready for the nation’s efforts.
Ukraine’s highly motivated infantry has advanced weapons and defensive equipment, including N-LAW and Javelin anti-tank missiles, provided by Britain and the United States.
As Russia’s progress is slower than expected, there were fears Friday night that Putin could resort to high-power thermobaric weapons – called “the father of all bombs” – as brave Ukrainians oppose his attempts to take control of Kiev.
There are also fears that units that lag behind the schedule as they face stiff opposition could resort to indiscriminate shelling as terrorist weapons.
Thermobaric weapons – also known as vacuum bombs – are high-power explosives that use the atmosphere itself as part of the explosion. They are among the most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever developed.
Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, was seen addressing the nation on Friday night
I am grateful to all the members of the UN Security Council π¦π± π«π· π¬π¦ π¬π π¬π π°πͺ π°πͺ π²π½ π¬π§ π¬π§ π¬π§ πΊπΈ πΊπΈ πΊπΈ who voted to stop the insidious attack of πΊπ¦ & πΊπ³ charter. ΠΡΠΎ’s veto is a bloodstain on his Security Council plaque, the map of Europe and π. The anti-war coalition must act immediately!
– Vladimir Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2022
Russian armor is now advancing on Kiev from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, seize an airport and launch paratroopers who will then attack the capital. The goal would be to take over the government and force them to sign a peace treaty that would restore control of the country to Russia or to a Russian puppet.
Ukrainian soldiers are depicted building across a highway in Kiev as they prepare to defend the city from Russian invaders, with gunfire and explosions heard in the center of the capital.
Soldiers tasked with defending Kiev from Russian troops take up positions under the city’s highway
A thermobar bomb dropped by the United States on the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017 weighed 21,600 pounds and left a crater more than 1,000 feet wide after it exploded six feet above the ground.
Thermobaric weapons were developed by both the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In September 2007, Russia detonated the largest thermobaric weapon ever made, creating an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons.
The American version of the weapon is reported to cost more than $ 16 million each.
“I am afraid that if they do not meet their schedule and goals, they will be indiscriminate in the use of violence,” said a Western official.
“They do not adhere to the same principles of necessity, proportionality and rule of law that Western powers do.”
The bomb works by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making it much more deadly than conventional weapons.
While Russian special forces have reached the suburbs of Kiev, it is believed that the bulk of Russia’s heavy armor is still more than 30 miles from the capital.