Good morning.
Ukrainians are being urged to resist as Russian tanks close in on Kyiv, in a day which could become the hardest day in the war, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister has said. Explosions and gunfire have been heard in the Obolonskyi area, a northern district of Kyiv, as invading Russian forces approached.
Anton Herashchenko said the city’s defenders were waiting with anti-tank missiles as reports came in that tanks were advancing on the city of almost 3 million from all sides. The Ministry of Defence’s Facebook page urged civilians to resist, saying: “We urge citizens to inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralise the enemy.”
Kyiv residents were woken by the sound of explosions as reports circulated that Russia had launched a series of missile strikes on the city.
What we know so far
The UN refugee agency has predicted that 4 million people may flee Ukraine “if the situation escalates further”.
The death toll in Ukraine has risen to 137 people, while 316 had been wounded by Russia’s invasion and attacks, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in an address late on Thursday.
All men aged 18-60 have been forbidden from leaving Ukraine as the military mobilises, with Zelenskiy declaring martial law.
Russian forces have taken the city of Sumy in north-eastern Ukraine. The city is about 200km west of the Russian border.
Kyiv was shaken by explosions in the early hours of Friday, with Ukraine claiming it had shot down a Russian military aircraft over the city. The interior ministry said a residential tower block had been set alight by the falling debris.
Cars queued for up to 15 hours as thousands attempted to flee Ukraine into Hungary and Poland. Fuel is in short supply, with a 20-litre fuel restriction imposed at six petrol stations and huge queues. Internal flights have been suspended.
Thousands of Russians have protested against the war in dozens of cities including Moscow and St Petersburg, with police arresting at least 1,702 in 53 cities.
Ukraine urges west to toughen up sanctions
Zelenskiy has pleaded with western countries to ramp up their sanctions on Russia and send more military support. In an address to the nation just after midnight, the president said: “We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of Nato membership? Everyone is afraid.”
On Thursday evening, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, voiced his fury shortly before the EU decided against blocking Russia from Swift, an international payments system through which it receives foreign currency – potentially the most effective sanction the bloc could impose. “I will not be diplomatic on this,” he tweeted. “Everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from Swift has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will be on their hands too. BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT.”
Is Swift bound by sanctions? The network has resisted calls to impose bans on certain countries, but there is precedent. In 2012, the EU banned Swift from serving Iranian firms and individuals sanctioned in relation to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Russia’s ministry for the economy has responded to sanctions by saying it is developing measures to minimise their impact, with plans to expand trade with Asia.
In other news …
Three former Minneapolis police officers have been convicted for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
A juror in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial who might not have disclosed childhood sexual abuse during jury selection will now be questioned publicly as Maxwell’s team seeks a retrial.
The Dominican Republic has begun construction on a controversial border wall with Haiti, with officials claiming it will limit the flow of migrants, drugs and weapons.
Stat of the day: Just 9% of plastic waste is recycled
Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, meaning microplastics are everywhere. The material is difficult to recycle and slow to decay. A summit of world leaders is being held online and in Nairobi, Kenya, next week, with hopes that the first ever global legally binding treaty to combat plastic waste could be agreed upon.
Don’t miss this: how the music industry sobered up
Musicians touring used to mean one thing: a hedonistic party life, fueled by booze and drugs. But the culture is starting to change, music journalist Hannah May Kilroy writes, with growing availability of support for those who want to stay sober. “There’s almost this unwritten rule that drugs and alcohol are a necessity if you’re a musician or in the music industry,” says Norman Beecher, who runs a workshop at Music Support, a charity specialising in mental health and addiction in the industry. “It’s a narrative that needs to change.”
Climate check: big oil is all talk and no action on clean energy
Major oil companies are largely all talk and no act when it comes to the clean energy initiatives they espouse, a comprehensive peer-reviewed study has found. Researchers compared rhetoric with action taken from 2009 to 2020 from the world’s four largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP, finding that the firms were not transitioning their business models to clean energy.
Last Thing: London’s ‘Boris bikes’ being spotted around the world
Twelve years since they first appeared on London’s streets, “Boris bikes” – named after Boris Johnson, who was mayor at the time of their introduction – have been hailed as an eco-friendly way of getting around the city. Or perhaps a bit further: a Freedom of Information request showed that the bicycles have turned up in places as far from the capital as Australia, Jamaica and Turkey.
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