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Summary
- Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by Nato countries. The US condemned the order and said Putin was “manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression”.
- The rouble is expect to plummet at least 25% amid panic when markets open on Monday, reflecting the unprecedented sanctions announced by the US and European Union over the weekend. The European Central Bank said on Monday morning that Sberbank Europe, a fully owned subsidiary of Sberbank Russia, which in turn is majority owned by the Russian state, is failing or likely to fail.
- Belarus reportedly approved in a referendum a new constitution renouncing the country’s non-nuclear status at a time when the country has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian news agencies report. The move could theoretically allow Russia to place nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union. The package of constitutional reforms also extended the rule of leader Alexander Lukashenko.
- Ukraine’s interior ministry says 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children. It says an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded. The ministry did not give any information on casualties among Ukraine’s armed forces. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, claimed Russian forces had lost about 4,300 servicemen, a figure it was not possible to verify independently.
- Satellite imagery taken on Sunday showed a large deployment of Russian ground forces including tanks moving in the direction of the capital Kyiv from approximately 40 miles (64 km) away. The city remains in Ukrainian hands. The images released by Maxar Technologies showed a deployment comprising hundreds of military vehicles and extending more than 3.25 miles (5km), the company said. The convoy contained fuel, logistics and armoured vehicles including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery, it said.
- Ukraine has agreed to peace talks with Russia “without preconditions”, the office of Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian president said he was not confident that any progress would be made, but “let’s try, so that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war when there was even a chance”.
- British prime minister Boris Johnson said he called the Ukrainian president who said he believed the next 24 hours was a “crucial period” for Ukraine. Johnson said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from the UK and allies reached Ukraine.
- The EU will buy weapons for Ukraine. Multiple European countries are offering military aid to Ukraine, including Sweden, which hasn’t sent weapons to a country in armed conflict since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Finland in 1939.
- The EU plans to close its airspace to Russian aircraft, including the private jets of Russian oligarchs. The bloc will also ban Russian-state backed television channels RT and Sputnik.
- A rare emergency special session of the UN general assembly is due to be held on Monday in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking the first time in 40 years the security council has made such a request.
- The UN refugee agency has said more than 368,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries. Up to 4 million people could become refugees if the situation continues to worsen, the UN said.
- The World Health Organization warned that thousands of lives are at risk from falling Ukrainian oxygen supplies.
- Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have spoken out against Putin’s invasion. Fridman said: “I am deeply attached to Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both.” Deripaska called for peace talks to begin “as fast as possible”.
- Pope Francis said he was “heartbroken” by the war and appeared to take direct aim at Putin by condemning people who “trust in the diabolic and perverse logic of weapons”.
- The UK will send an additional £40m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while the US said it is sending nearly $54m (£40m) in new humanitarian aid
- Russian police detained more than 1,400 people at anti-war protests on Sunday, an independent monitoring organisation said, lifting the tally for crackdown arrests to over 4,000.
When Ukrainian football player Roman Yaremchuk came on to the pitch for Portuguese Primeira Liga club SL Benefica, he was met with thunderous applause from the crowd who held signs in support of the player’s homeland.
Watch the video below of the moment Yaremchuk was brought to tears when he entered the pitch.
Reports claim Belarus is preparing to send soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion.
The Washington Post spoke to an unnamed US administration official on Sunday evening who said the deployment could begin as soon as Monday.
It’s very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin,” they said.
The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the claim.
Our China affairs correspondent Vincent Ni reports on an open letter written by five prominent Chinese historians, calling on Beijing to make its stance on the war clearer:
The outlook for the Russian economy is “dire”, according to one analyst, as the impact of western sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s regime began to be felt.
The rouble crashed more than 40% in value in early trading on Monday, slumping from 83.7 to the US dollar to 119.
A tough day looks in store for the Central Bank of Russia which has had its assets frozen as part of the sanctions and will be limited in how much it can support the currency.
“The situation is dire for the Russian economy,” said Christopher Vecchio, senior strategist with IG Group’s DailyFX.com in New York.
“Now unable to import or export goods and services thanks to the Swift sanctions, unable to sell foreign currency reserves thanks to the [central bank] asset freeze, and a Russian economy ringfenced from the global financial system, a currency crisis has emerged for Russia. High inflation is coming, as is an immediate lurch into recession.”
Other market moves include a 5% jump in Brent crude oil and a more losses on Asian stock markets where Putin’s raising of the nuclear threat has spooked investors.
Here’s a look at how the crisis is playing out in some of the world’s media:
Tomorrow’s @nytimes front page. Another double stacked six-column head and 4 Ukraine stories. pic.twitter.com/CRxqIifGWX
— carolynryan 🏳️🌈🏓 (@carolynryan) February 28, 2022
Tomorrow's @Guardian: Putin puts nuclear force on high alert as backlash grows
— Richard Preston (@richardpreston_) February 27, 2022
• Read our story, by @Andrew__Roth, @shaunwalker7, @JenniferMerode and @julianborger, here: https://t.co/ziAvMg6162
• Follow our liveblog here: https://t.co/MGVROjtXkR#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/XvvWiVVpRN
TIMES: Putin puts nuclear force on alert #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/A5671BByDX
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 27, 2022
Poll shows overwhelming support in Ukraine for Zelenskiy
Over 90% of Ukrainians have said they support president Volodymyr
Zelenskiy, according to a poll conducted by the Rating Sociological group this weekend.
According to the data compiled from two thousand respondents from across Ukraine, 91% of respondents backed Zelenskiy, only 6% said they did not support him and 3% remained undecided.
The support is a threefold increase from December last year.
Residents in Crimea and the rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine were excluded from the survey, according to the BBC.
When asked about the chances of Ukraine being able to repel the Russian assault, 70% said they believed it was possible.
Updated
Canada has said Aeroflot Flight 111 violated its airspace closure for Russian flights
Transport Canada said they are aware that Aeroflot flight 111 “violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace” and would be “launching a review” of the conduct of the aircraft and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN.
“We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations,” the agency said.
(1/2) We are aware that Aeroflot flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace.
— Transport Canada (@Transport_gc) February 28, 2022
Updated
Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday that Japan was asked to join in measures blocking Russia from Swift by western nations and was working with them to make the measures effective, Reuters reports.
He said Japan will continue to cooperate with other nations, including the G7, but declined to comment when asked about sanctions on the Russian central bank.
US president Joe Biden is set to host a call with western allies and partners on Monday at 11.15am ET (4.15pm GMT) to discuss developments regarding Russia’s attack on Ukraine and to coordinate united response, the White House has said in a statement.
A missile has reportedly hit a residential building in the centre of Chernihiv, causing a fire to break out, Ukraine’s state service of special communications is reporting.
Chernihiv is about 150km north-east of Kyiv.
“A rocket hit a residential building in the centre of Chernihiv. A fire broke out, two lower floors are on fire. The number of injured is currently unknown,” the agency said in a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The development follows reports from the Kyiv Independent newspaper of an air raid alert that sounded in the city about4.30am local time with residents being urged to head to the nearest shelter.
Zelenskiy says next 24 hours 'crucial period' in call to Johnson
In his call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, British prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK would not only continue to supply defensive weapons to Ukraine but would assist other countries in doing so as well.
According to a recently released statement, a No 10 spokesman said:
President Zelenskiy said he believed the next 24 hours was a crucial period for Ukraine, and the prime minister said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from the UK and allies reached Ukraine.”
The call follows a donors conference on Friday where defence secretary Ben Wallace said Britain would deal with the logistics of getting equipment into a war zone.
The UK has also said it will send £40m more in aid to provide vital medical supplies and assistance to Ukraine, widening economic and military support to bolster the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion.
Talked to 🇬🇧 Prime Minister @BorisJohnson and 🇵🇱 President @AndrzejDuda about the current security situation. Agreed on further joint steps to counter the aggressor. Anti-war coalition in action!
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022
Updated
Blasts are being heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv on Monday morning, Ukraine’s state service of special communications has said.
Kyiv had been quiet for a few hours prior to that, it said in a brief statement on the Telegram messaging app.
“Explosions are heard again in Kyiv and Kharkiv. Before that, it was calm in the Ukrainian capital for several hours,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the Kyiv Independent newspaper is reporting an air raid alert has been sounded in Chernihiv. Residents are being urged to head to the nearest shelter, the publication reports.
⚡️Air raid alert in Chernihiv.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 28, 2022
Residents are asked to head to the nearest shelter.
Updated
For the first time since 1982, the UN security council has called for a united nations general assembly emergency special session to be held on Monday.
The measure convening the emergency session was adopted by a vote of 11 in favour, with Russia voting against, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining, according a recent statement from the agency.
Ukraine: For the 1st time since 1982, the UN Security Council has called for a #UNGA Emergency Special Session, to be held on Monday.
— United Nations (@UN) February 27, 2022
Get background information on such sessions here: https://t.co/ecRL3ABUsU pic.twitter.com/HwLi0aK8lX
The governors of a handful of US states have ordered government-run liquor stores to stop selling Russian-made vodka and distilled spirits in solidarity with the Ukrainian people after Russia’s invasion.
Utah governor Spencer Cox became the latest official to instruct his state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to take off all Russian-produced and branded products from the shelves of its retail stores over the weekend.
In issuing the executive order, Cox joined the governors of New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania in taking what is largely a symbolic gesture of support for Ukraine.
“We will do our part to push back on the Russian invaders and stand with our sisters and brothers in Ukraine,” said Cox, Reuters reports. He also said that Utah would review all state procurements to check for any Russian ties.
Powerful photos of Ukrainian citizens preparing homemade molotov cocktails to defend their territory are emerging.
Below, a group of women use empty bottles and other materials in the city of Uzhhorod in western Ukraine.
Photograph: Serhii Hudak/Reuters
Updated
Alphabet Inc’s Google has temporarily disabled some Google Maps tools in Ukraine which provide live information about traffic conditions and how busy different places are, the company confirmed on Sunday.
The tech giant said it had taken the action for the safety of local communities in the country, after consulting with sources including regional authorities, Reuters reports.
Ukraine’s state special communications service has said fighters from Belarus are en route towards Ukraine.
“Fighters from Belarus are now flying towards Ukraine,” the agency said in a statement on its Telegram account about 2am local time (12am GMT).
A video accompanying the statement purports to show aircraft in the night sky from Zhlobino in the Gomel region of Belarus.
The nationality of the forces remains unclear.
The Ukrainian military has claimed its forces made successful attacks against Russian forces through the use of drones.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian armed forces released footage purportedly showing the destruction of a Russian BUK missile system by a drone.
Commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the drone attack took place near the town of Malyn in the Zhytomyr region, about 100km (about 62 miles) north-west of Kyiv.
Updated
Rouble crashes 30% as market opens
The rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low versus the US dollar on Monday as markets opened for trading on the first day after western nations announced punishing economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The rouble dropped to as low as 119 per dollar, and was last down 28.77% at 118 from its closing price 83.64 on Friday.
The sanctions include blocking some Russian banks from the Swift international payments system, leading investors to anticipate a run on the Russian currency as people try to change their money for dollars and other denominations.
“The escalating crisis in Ukraine will force markets to price in a substantially higher geopolitical risk premium,” strategists at the Australian bank Westpac said on Monday. “The Ukrainian situation is volatile.”
Updated
Belarus referendum approves proposal to renounce non-nuclear status: reports
A referendum in Belarus on Sunday reportedly approved a new constitution renouncing the country’s non-nuclear status at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launch pad for Russian troops invading Ukraine, Russian news agencies report.
The move could theoretically allow Russia to place nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union. The referendum result will come into force 10 days after its official publication, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
On Sunday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said: “If you [the west] transfer nuclear weapons to Poland or Lithuania, to our borders, then I will turn to Putin to return the nuclear weapons that I gave away without any conditions.”
According to RIA, the head of the Belarus central elections commission, Igor Karpenko, said that 65.16% of citizens voted for the amendments to the constitution in a referendum.
This number was also reported in the Kyiv Independent newspaper, also citing that 65.16% of citizens allegedly supported these constitutional amendments.
The west has already said it will not recognise the results of the referendum, which is taking place against the background of a sweeping crackdown on domestic opponents of the government.
⚡️Belarus will renounce its non-nuclear and neutral status, allowing Russia to place nuclear weapons on its territory, as a result of the referendum held today.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 28, 2022
65.16% of citizens allegedly supported these constitutional amendments.
Canada has announced that it will ship non-lethal protective military equipment such as helmets and body armour to Ukraine’s army, but ruled out sending troops in against Russian forces.
Ukrainian troops need bulletproof vests, helmets, gas masks and night vision equipment, Canadian foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said at a press conference on Sunday.
The contributions will amount to 25m Canadian dollars (17.6m euros), said Joly, stressing that she had received the request “directly” from Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna.
Canada’s defence minister Anita Anand meanwhile reiterated that a combat mission was “not on the table right now.”
Canada announced on February 14 that if would send arms and ammunition to Ukraine, a first, accompanied by a loan of 500 million Canadian dollars.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted:
To help the people of Ukraine defend themselves, we’re sending them additional military supplies that have been requested – including night vision goggles, body armour, gas masks, and helmets.”
Canada has a large Ukrainian diaspora, numbering more than 1.3 million.
To help the people of Ukraine defend themselves, we’re sending them additional military supplies that have been requested – including night vision goggles, body armour, gas masks, and helmets.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 27, 2022
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said Ukraine belongs in the European Union and the bloc would like to see the country be a part of it in time.
“Indeed over time, they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in,” Von der Leyen said in an interview with Euronews on Sunday.
Her comments came hours after the 27-nation EU decided to supply weapons to Ukraine, a first in the bloc’s history.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed he had a phone conversation with Von der Leyen where the pair talked about “concrete decisions on strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities” as well as macro-financial assistance and Ukraine’s membership in the EU.
Also had a phone conversation with @vonderleyen. Talked about concrete decisions on strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, macro-financial assistance and Ukraine's membership in the #EU.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022
Updated
Sberbank Europe will collapse, says ECB
More bad economic news for Putin.
The European Central Bank said on Monday morning that Sberbank Europe, a fully-owned subsidiary of Sberbank Russia, which in turn is majority-owned by the Russian state, is failing or likely to fail along with its Croatian and Slovenian units.
“Sberbank Europe AG and its subsidiaries experienced significant deposit outflows as a result of the reputational impact of geopolitical tensions,” the ECB said in a statement. “This led to a deterioration of its liquidity position.
“There are no available measures with a realistic chance of restoring this position at group level and in each of its subsidiaries within the banking union.”
Updated
Ukraine’s interior ministry says 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children.
The ministry says an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.
Ukraine is inflicting disastrous losses on the enemy.
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) February 27, 2022
The overall Russian losses in these 3,5 days ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/LR5Jb3dZMK
More on the market from the Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth.
Moscow is bracing for economic panic when markets open on Monday morning, with the value of the rouble expected to plummet at least 25% after the US and European Union announced unprecedented sanctions over the weekend.
Those measures targeted the Russian central bank, which has intervened to prop up the value of the rouble following Vladimir Putin’s order to invade Ukraine. They also marked the first time Russian banks have been excluded from the Swift international payments system.
Major Russian banks such as Sberbank and VTB Bank have assured their customers that they will be able to access their rouble deposits and make exchanges into foreign currencies like dollars and euros.
But the economic turbulence will mark a key moment when the gravity of the crisis in Ukraine hits home for many ordinary Russians.
Read the full story below.
Updated
Russian rouble is set to plunge nearly 20%
The Russian rouble is set to plunge nearly 20% to a new record low versus the dollar on Monday, Reuters reports.
The rouble was indicated as low as 104 per dollar in futures trading, a more than 19% tumble.
The euro also sank more than 1% after western nations announced a harsh set of sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the Swift international payments system.
Russia’s attack and subsequent sanctions have wrought havoc on markets around the globe.
The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars also tumbled, while the safe-haven yen rallied as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
The euro declined 1.15% to $1.1140 in early Asian trading, on track for its biggest one-day decline in nearly two years.
The Aussie slid 0.98% to $0.71625, while New Zealand’s kiwi lost 1.10% to $0.66630.
The yen climbed 0.36% to 115.06 per dollar.
Updated
As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv’s mayor has confirmed that nine civilians in the city have been killed so far, including one child, in an interview with the Associated Press.
Vitali Klitschko ordered a curfew began about sundown on Saturday and is to extend until at least 8am Monday. His order pointedly stated that any unauthorised person outside during this time could be considered a saboteur.
“We are hunting these people, and it will be much easier if nobody is on the street,” Klitschko explained, saying that six Russian saboteurs were killed Saturday night.
Russian troops’ advance on the city has been slower than many military experts had expected but the overall Russian military advantage is well-known to all.
“I just talked to the president (Zelenskiy). Everybody is not feeling so well,” Klitschko said, adding that city government employees were in shock but not depressed. “We show our character, our knowledge, our values.”
Hello it’s Samantha Lock with you as my colleague Dani Anguiano signs off.
I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine.
For any tips and feedback please contact me through Twitter or at samantha.lock@theguardian.com
Updated
The Russian airline Aeroflot has said it will cancel all European flights after nearly 30 countries announced plans to close their airspace in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Aeroflot is suspending flights of the European route network from February 28 2022 until further notice,” the company said on its website.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said Sunday that the whole bloc would close its airspace to Russian aircraft, including the private jets of Russian oligarchs.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, had already cancelled all flights to Russia for the coming week. Russia banned all British aircraft from landing in the country in response to Boris Johnson’s decision to ban Aeroflot from landing in the UK.
Updated
Today so far
Here are Sunday’s top headlines on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
- Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by Nato countries. The US condemned the order and said Putin was “manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression”.
- Ukraine has agreed to peace talks with Russia “without preconditions”, the office of Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian president said he was not confident that any progress would be made, but “let’s try, so that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war when there was even a chance”.
- Ukraine’s capital Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands as Russia has faced a series of military setbacks. Satellite images are showing a 3.25 mile-long convoy of Russian troops heading towards the city.
- The EU will purchase weapons for Ukraine. Multiple European countries are offering military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion, including Sweden, which hasn’t sent weapons to a country in armed conflict since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Finland in 1939.
- The EU also plans to close its airspace to Russian aircraft, including the private jets of Russian oligarchs, and ban Russian-state backed television channels RT and Sputnik.
- The UN security council has called for an emergency special session of the general assembly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking the first time in 40 years the council has made such a request.
- The UN refugee agency has said more than 368,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries. Up to 4 million people could become refugees if the situation continues to worsen, the UN said.
- Western allies have agreed to block Russia’s access to the Swift international banking payment system.
- The World Health Organization warned that thousands of lives are at risk from falling Ukrainian oxygen supplies.
- Pope Francis said he was “heartbroken” by the war and appeared to take direct aim at Putin by condemning people who “trust in the diabolic and perverse logic of weapons”.
- The UK will send an additional £40m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while the US said it is sending nearly $54m (£40m) in new humanitarian aid
-
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, claimed Russian forces had lost about 4,300 servicemen, a figure it was not possible to verify independently.
- Russian police detained more than 1,400 people at anti-war protests on Sunday, an independent monitoring organisation said, lifting the tally for crackdown arrests to over 4,000.
Updated
The United Nations security council has called for an emergency special session of the general assembly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking the first time in 40 years the council has made such a request.
Russia voted against the resolution while China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained from voting. The emergency meeting will be held on Monday.
“This is not an ordinary moment. We need to take extraordinary action to meet this threat to our international system and to do everything we can to help Ukraine and its people,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, according to the New York Times.
Fifa has decided that Russia can continue their bid to qualify for this winter’s World Cup, despite their opponents refusing to play against them. As England became the latest country to say they will boycott matches against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Fifa finally ended days of silence on the subject only to effectively endorse the status quo.
Under a series of “initial measures” agreed by the Fifa council on Sunday, next month’s World Cup play-off between Russia and Poland will go ahead but at a neutral venue and with no spectators. Russia will also be forced to go by the name “Football Union of Russia (RFU)” in an echo of the punishment imposed on the country at the Olympics. No Russian flag will be flown either, nor will the anthem be played.
In a statement Fifa said they would be willing to consider further actions, including expulsion from the World Cup, should “the situation not be improving rapidly”. They said they had already “been in dialogue” with the Polish FA about the match, having “taken good note of the positions expressed via social media”.
But Fifa’s proposal was immediately rejected by the Polish football authorities, who earlier this weekend had declared their determination to boycott any fixture with Russia, a sentiment shared by individual players including star striker Robert Lewandowski. The president of the Polish FA, Cezary Kulesza, described Fifa’s decision as “unacceptable”.
Satellite image shows 3-mile-long convoy of Russian troops headed toward Kyiv
A 3.25-mile long deployment of Russian forces, in a convoy with fuel, logistics and armoured vehicles, appears to be moving in the direction of Kyiv approximately 40 miles to the south.
No Russian troops are currently in the capital, the mayor Vitali Klitschko said, but nine civilians, 18 fighters and four unidentified persons have been killed in Kyiv since fighting began on 24 February.
Updated
Boris Johnson: 'No hostility in my part towards the Russian people'
Boris Johnson visited a Ukrainian church in London on Sunday where he offered support to the people of Ukraine.
“I want to stress that there is no hostility in my part towards the Russian people. None whatever, quite the reverse,” the British prime minister said in an address at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
“My heart aches for the Russian parents who are already losing their children in this vicious and appalling war, just as it aches for the civilians and the people of Ukraine. But when it comes to the Russian leadership that chose this path of violence, and I stress chose, this path of violence and aggression, there can be no possible excuse.
“Never in all my study, my memory of politics and international affairs have I seen so clear a distinction between right and wrong, between good and evil, between light and dark. And that is the real reason why Ukraine is our neighbour today.
“And by the way I say to all the countries around the world who may only just be waking up to the horror of what is going on – I say to everybody around the world, that is why Ukraine should be your neighbour too.”
Updated
Kyiv mayor: reports capital surrounded by Russian forces are false
The mayor of Kyiv has said reports that the capital is surrounded by Russian forces are false.
“In the evening, Russian online publications spread information with reference to me that Kyiv was allegedly surrounded and evacuation of people was impossible,” Vitali Klitschko said in a statement. “And it is strange that Ukrainian telegram channels started to spread it… Do not believe lies! Trust information only from official sources. Together, we will stand together. Ukraine will win!”
A spokesperson for the mayor told the Kyiv Independent that Klitschko misspoke earlier Sunday, and that information about Russian troops encircling the city is “a lie and a manipulation”.
Satellite images on Sunday showed a 3.25-mile long deployment of Russian forces advancing toward Kyiv.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet without preconditions near the Pripyat river, on Ukraine’s border with Belarus.
The Ukrainian president said he was not confident that any progress would be made, but that he would try.
“I’ll say frankly, like always, that I don’t believe in the result of this meeting,” he said. “But let’s try, so that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war when there was even a chance.”
Updated
The US state department is advising American citizens to consider leaving Russia immediately.
“An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines. US citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available,” the department said on Sunday.
Last month, the US warned Americans against traveling to Russia because of tension along the border with Ukraine as well as “the potential for harassment against US citizens, the embassy’s limited ability to assist US citizens in Russia” and “harassment by Russian government security officials”.
Updated
The UK will send an additional £40m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Boris Johnson announced Sunday.
The funding will help aid agencies and provide access to medical supplies such as medicines, syringes, dressings and wound care packs, and other basic necessities.
“In the last days the world has witnessed awe-inspiring displays of bravery and heroism from the Ukrainian people in response to those who seek to obliterate their freedom by force,” the British prime minister said. “The UK will not turn our backs in Ukraine’s hour of need. We are providing all the economic and military support we can to help those Ukrainians risking everything to protect their country.”
The government has pledged £140m in aid to Ukraine this year, and offered to guarantee up to $500m of loans. The UK, along with multiple other European countries, has pledged to continue to supply arms to Ukraine’s military as it battles invading Russian forces.
Johnson, who met with Ukrainian community leaders at a London church on Sunday, said any Ukrainian person settled in the UK will be able to bring immediate family members from Ukraine.
Multiple European countries are offering weapons to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.
Sweden announced Sunday it would give military aid, including anti-tank weapons, helmets and body armor, to Ukraine, the first time it has sent weapons to a country in armed conflict since the Soviet Union’s 1939 invasion of Finland, said Magdalena Andersson, the prime minister.
“Sweden is now proposing direct support for Ukraine’s armed forces. It includes 135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, 5,000 body shields and 5,000 anti-tank weapons,” Andersson said.
Belgium plans to send thousands of machine guns and hundreds of anti-tank grenade launchers, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said Sunday.
It was nice to learn that in addition to yesterday's agreements, Belgium is sending us another 3,000 machine guns and 200 anti-tank grenade launchers. Thank you @alexanderdecroo for your leadership.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022
Meanwhile, Germany announced yesterday it would send anti-tank weapons and missiles to Ukraine, a major reversal of its policy of not exporting arms to conflict zones.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund will divest its Russian assets in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian prime minister announced on Sunday.
The $1.3tn sovereign wealth fund is the world’s largest. Its Russian assets, which include government bonds and shares in nearly 50 companies, were worth $2.83bn at the end of 2021.
“We have decided to freeze the fund’s investments and have begun a process of selling out [of Russia],” Jonas Gahr Støre, the prime minister, said at a news conference.
Updated
The Biden administration on Sunday condemned Vladimir Putin’s order placing Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert as the US president faces growing calls from senior Republicans to issue a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector.
Speaking on ABC News on Sunday Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, described Russia’s nuclear deterrence announcement as an example of Putin “manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression”.
In televised comments Putin said he had ordered “the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty” due to “aggressive statements” from Nato leaders. Analysts told the Guardian that while the order itself was not immediately clear, it was not indicative of preparation for a first strike.
In response, Psaki said: “At no point has Russia been under threat from Nato, has Russia been under threat from Ukraine, this is all a pattern from President Putin. And we’re going to stand up for it. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we’re seeing here from President Putin.”
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the order as indicative of Putin “continuing to escalate this war in a manner that is totally unacceptable”. She added in an interview with CBS News: “We have to continue to condemn his actions in ... the strongest possible way.”
On Sunday a number of senior Republicans, including Senator Tom Cotton, a foreign policy hawk, continued to urge Biden to issue a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas exports.
“It’s time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussy-footing around. The financial sanctions announced last night are riddled with loopholes,” he told ABC News.
The administration has already alluded to further sanctions as the war continues.
EU to purchase weapons for Ukraine
The European Union will purchase weapons for Ukraine as it fights against Russia’s invasion, officials said Sunday.
“For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said.
A commission source told Reuters it planned to spend €450m in EU funds on weapons for Ukraine, and an additional €50m on other items including medical supplies.
The EU also plans to close its airspace to Russian aircraft, including the private jets of Russian oligarchs, von der Leyen said.
Updated
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor and former world heavyweight boxing champion, has described the Ukraine capital as “encircled” and said a civilian evacuation would not be possible “because all ways are blocked”.
“We are at the border of a humanitarian catastrophe,” he told Associated Press on Sunday as a curfew continued in the city which he said allowed authorities to hunt “saboteurs” on the streets. “Right now, we have electricity, right now we have water and heating in our houses. But the infrastructure is destroyed to deliver the food and medication.”
“That’s why the message for everyone is: support Ukraine together ... We are strong,” he said. “Every Ukrainian is proud to be independent, proud to be Ukrainian, and we are proud to have our own country.”
Updated
The European Union has announced it will ban Russian-state backed television channels RT and Sputnik in an unprecedented move against the Kremlin media machine.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union. So we are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”
The move, which was neither trailed nor widely discussed, came as part of a package of tougher sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government and the regime of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, which Von der Leyen described as “complicit in this vicious attack against Ukraine”.
The UK’s culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, last week wrote to the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom asking it to look at whether RT should be allowed to broadcast “harmful disinformation” in the UK. Some argued against a ban, warning that it could lead to Moscow closing down the BBC in Russia.
Updated
As British business face pressure to untangle themselves from Russian links after the invasion of Ukraine, one of Britain’s biggest companies, BP, said on Sunday it had decided to exit its 19.75 % stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft. It is a significant move that could cost the company up to $25bn, according to figures in its own statement.
BP chief executive Bernard Looney, who will step down from the Rosneft board with Bob Dudley, former chief executive, said the invasion “caused us to fundamentally rethink BP’s position with Rosneft.” He said he had been “deeply shocked and saddened” by the situation. BP has owned almost a fifth of the oil giant since 2013 and it accounted for half of the oil reserves that BP had in the ground, the Guardian understands.
BP’s chair, Helge Lund, said: “Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region. BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues. However, this military action represents a fundamental change.”
Updated
Peaceful anti-war protests have been happening around the world, with perhaps the largest happening in Berlin with over 100,000 participants, my colleague in the German capital, Kate Connolly reports.
“Stop War, Stop Putin” was the slogan displayed on many banners, with others asking: “Why not simply peace?” The demonstrators were scheduled to gather on the wide 17 Juni boulevard between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column in Berlin’s city centre, but authorities were forced to expand the designated area to neighbouring streets in order to ensure that coronavirus restrictions could be observed. Trade unionists, churchgoers, environmental activists, peace groups as well as unaffiliated individuals gathered.
Frank Werneke, head of the large trade union Verdi, said the demonstration was an important signal of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, in light of the dramatic scenes unfolding there. He said the demonstration was against Putin, not Russia: “It’s important to state that Putin is not Russia.”
Elsewhere Reuters and PA reported:
- In Prague around 80,000 protesters thronged the central square, with the Czech prime minister telling the crowd the country still remembered its own terror of Russian tanks rolling into the capital more than five decades ago.
- In Madrid, thousands of protesters waved Ukrainian flags. They held signs reading “Peace”, “Stop Putin”, and “Putin, you should be scared – my grandmother is really angry”.
- In London thousands of demonstrators gathered in Trafalgar Square, and many Russians joined the rally, led by Ukrainian community leaders, holding up placards with messages like “Russians do not want the war”. Several described the “very close” ties between the two countries, calling Ukrainians “brothers and sisters” and “best friends”.
- In Denmark, roughly 400 demonstrators gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in central Copenhagen, where many participants lit candles and laid flowers to show their support for the Ukrainian people.
Updated
Reuters is quoting Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying he will use every opportunity to secure peace, ahead of talks planned between Russian and Ukrainian representatives close to the Belarus border.
“I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try so that later not a single citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as President, tried to stop the war, when there was even a small, but still a chance,” Zelenskiy said.
Turkey’s foreign ministry has signalled that it intends to block Russian warships from passing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits that lead to the Black Sea, a shift in Turkey’s formerly neutral position where officials underlined alliances with both Russia and Ukraine.
“We came to the conclusion that the situation in Ukraine has turned into a war,” said Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. “We will apply the Montreux provisions transparently.”
Turkey controls both straits under the Montreux convention, granting it the power to block the passage of Russian and Ukrainian warships, providing they are not returning to their permanent bases in the Black Sea.
The convention means the straits can be blocked if a conflict meets the definition of a war.
The blocking will likely affect a number of Russian vessels currently in the Mediterranean Sea, including submarines and frigates, some of which belong to Black Sea fleets. A block means that Russian warships will not be able to transit the straits to either provide reinforcements to existing forces or to leave and return in order to assist forces in their invasion of Ukraine.
Turkish maritime analyst Yörük Isik pointed to satellite imagery showing at least 16 vessels in the Mediterranean. “What we see are 16 ships, some of them are Black Sea fleet ships. They might have some additional assets including replenishment tankers or small patrol crafts near Tartus but these are the most meaningful assets,” he said.
Çavuşoğlu’s remarks about the closure of the straits also signalled a shift in Turkish policy that until now has carefully tried to balance its Nato commitments and alliance with Ukraine in tandem with its energy and security dependency on Russia.
Turkey’s position has shifted rapidly over the weekend, including remarks earlier today from president Erdogan’s chief advisor Ibrahim Kalin, who said “we will continue our efforts to help the people of Ukraine and end bloodshed in this unjust and unlawful war.” Until now, Turkish officials had chosen their words carefully, primarily using terms such as “military operation.”
Turkey’s move to close the straits is a signal that its current foreign policy is prioritising Europe and its Nato commitments over its long-term ties to Russia.
“Turkey has a dependency on Russia, not only on energy like some European countries, but also their security situation. There must be fears within the authority that Russia could green-light an attack by the [Syrian] regime on Idlib,” said Sinan Ülgen, of the Turkish thinktank the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies. He was referring to the province in northern Syria controlled by opposition forces including jihadists, with a Turkish presence to deter Russian and Syrian attacks.
Updated
Security experts have been considering Vladimir’s move to place Russia’s nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty”.
In televised comments the Russian president said: “Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading Nato members made aggressive statements regarding our country”.
The White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed Putin is engaging in a pattern he used before launching the invasion, “which is to manufacture threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression.”
The meaning of what Putin announced was not immediately clear. Russia and the United States typically have land- and submarine-based nuclear forces on alert and prepared for combat at all times, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not.
If Putin is arming or otherwise raising the nuclear combat readiness of his bombers, or if he is ordering more ballistic missile submarines to sea, then the United States might feel compelled to respond in kind, said Hans Kristensen, a nuclear analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. That would mark a worrisome escalation, he said.
Max Bergmann, a former State Department official, called Putin’s talk predictable but dangerous saber rattling. “Things could spiral out of control,” said Bergmann, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Updated
Protests have been continuing too in Russia, reports the Associated Press news agency, with the number of people arrested reaching 1,474 on Sunday across 45 cities, according to a count by the OVD-Info rights group, which is tracking arrests.
“It is a crime both against Ukraine and Russia,” said Olga Mikheeva, who protested in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. “I think it is killing both Ukraine and Russia. I am outraged, I haven’t slept for three nights, and I think we must now declare very loudly that we don’t want to be killed and don’t want Ukraine to be killed.”
“I have two sons and I don’t want to give them to that bloody monster,” said 48-year-old Dmitry Maltsev, who joined the rally in St Petersburg. “War is a tragedy for all of us.”
Updated
Rallies in support of Ukraine have been under way in Cyprus, home to more than 40,000 Russian citizens.
In Nicosia’s freedom square, in the heart of the divided Cypriot capital, demonstrators gathered this afternoon demanding an end to the war.
“There shouldn’t be war when there are ways to end aggression through dialogue,” said Evgenia, a 14-year-old Russian holding a placard emblazoned with the words “Russians against the war”. She and others chanted: “Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes.”
Sunday’s anti-war rally was the third in as many days. Protesters have also taken to the streets in Limassol, the coastal town long a magnet for high net worth Russians with close ties to the Putin regime.
“We Cypriots have a very bitter experience of war and fear that if this one is not stopped it will expand,” said Christina Christofias with the Cyprus Peace Council, which had organised the rally. “So many years after the [1974 Turkish] invasion troops are still here. War should never happen.”
“The war must end immediately,” the peace council said in a statement. “Human lives mustn’t be sacrificed once again for the sake of whatever interests and profit. The peoples of Ukraine and Russia, as well as the region of Eastern Europe, have nothing to gain from war and military conflicts.”
Updated
The German railway, Deutsche Bahn, has said that refugees with a Ukraine passport or identity card will be able to travel free on long-distance trains from Poland to Germany.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelinskiy has been talking about the prospect of talks with Russian officials planned to take place close to the border with Belarus, Reuters reports. It has the following lines so far:
- Zelinskiy said talks with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko were “very substantive”.
- He said he doesn’t want troops to move from Belarus to Ukraine and Lukashenko assured him of this.
- Zelinskiy said we all need to act pragmatically to achieve our goal and he said Ukraine’s goal was territorial integrity.
Summary
Here’s Sunday’s top headlines on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine so far.
- Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by Nato countries.
- Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg responded: “This is dangerous rhetoric”.
- Ukraine has agreed to peace talks with Russia “without preconditions”, the office of president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
- Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine won’t surrender “a single inch of our territory” ahead of the talks, saying no preconditions was “already a victory”.
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Ukraine’s capital Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands as Russia has faced a series of military setbacks.
- Ukraine claimed its forces repelled a Russian attempt to seize Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, following fierce fighting and street battles with advancing Russian troops.
- The UN refugee agency has said more than 368,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries. Up to 4 million people could become refugees if the situation continues to worsen, the UN said.
- Western allies have agreed to block Russia’s access to the Swift international banking payment system.
- German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he will spend €100bn on defence in a U-turn over the country’s longstanding military policy.
- The World Health Organization warned thousands of lives are at risk by falling Ukrainian oxygen supplies.
- Pope Francis said he was “heartbroken” by the war and appeared to take direct aim at Putin by condemning people who “trust in the diabolic and perverse logic of weapons”.
- The US said it is sending nearly $54m (£40m) in new humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
- Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar claimed Russian forces have lost about 4,300 servicemen, a figure it was not possible to independently verify.
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Turkey called the conflict a “war”, which could lead to the country blocking access between the Mediterranean and Black seas to Russian ships.
- The UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said she’s preparing a “hit list” of oligarchs to sanction. She also said the war could spell the “beginning of the end” for Putin and said she would back Britons going to fight for Ukraine as private citizens.
- Russian police detained more than 900 people at anti-war protests on Sunday, an independent monitoring organisation said, lifting the tally for crackdown arrests to over 4,000.
- Over 17 European countries have now blocked airspace access to Russian flights, with Russia retaliating – marking a pivot back towards Cold War-style relations.
That’s all from me, Jem Bartholomew in London, for today. I’ll be back next week, do get in touch via email or Twitter with tips for then. Now over to my colleague Robert Booth. Bye for now.
Updated
Russia’s state communications regulator Roskomnadzor wrote to Google on Sunday demanding access to Russian media’s YouTube channels be restored on Ukrainian territory.
Russia, as well as facing stiff military resistance, has faced setbacks in the information war as major platform sanction the invasion.
Google restricted access on media outlets including RBC, TV Zvezda and Sputnik, Reuters reports.
Moscow on Friday said it was partially limiting access to Facebook, accusing it of “censoring” Russian media. Twitter said it was aware users were facing disruption in Russia and was working to retain access.
Updated
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has expressed guarded optimism over news of talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday morning as news of the expected talks at the Belarusian border broke, Thomas Greenfield said: “We’ll look forward to what comes out of those discussions.
“As you know … we leaned in on diplomacy with the Russians throughout this process and we hoped that Putin would find a way to the negotiating table and he made the unfortunate decision of aggression over diplomacy.”
Pressed on whether she believed the announced talks indicated a good faith effort on behalf of Russia, Thomas Greenfield responded: “I can’t get into Putin’s head or into Russian reasoning, so it remains to be seen.”
The announcement was also tentatively welcomed by Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, who told the news channel he had “absolute and full confidence” in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s judgment on “whether it is right to sit down and find a political solution”.
But Stoltenberg also expressed concerns about Russia’s motivations. “It remains to be seen whether Russia is really willing to make some serious compromises and also to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg characterised Putin’s decision to order Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert as “dangerous rhetoric” and “a behaviour that is irresponsible”.
“Of course if you combine this rhetoric with what they’re doing on the ground in Ukraine, waging war against the independent sovereign nation, conducting full fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation.”
He added, with reference to recently increased Nato presence in the eastern part of the alliance: “We have to realise we are now faced with a new normal for our security … there will be some long-term consequences and this is just the beginning of the adaptation that we need to do as a response to a much more aggressive Russia.”
Updated
Spain has closed its airspace to Russian flights, alongside at least 16 other European nations.
In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, the Spanish transport ministry said: “Spain will proceed to close its airspace to Russian flights. In line with the cooperation directives agree by the EU, this measure will affect flights operated by the Russian airlines that use Spanish airspace.”
España procederá al cierre del espacio aéreo a las aerolíneas rusas.
— Ministerio Transportes, Movilidad y A. Urbana (@mitmagob) February 27, 2022
Siguiendo las directrices de cooperación marcadas por la Unión Europea, esta medida tendrá efectos en los vuelos operados por las aerolíneas rusas que usen el espacio aéreo español.
Likewise, Portugal announced similar measures. In a tweet, Portugal’s foreign ministry said: “Portugal will close its airspace to Russian airlines. We took this measure in conjunction with our European partners and in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”
🇵🇹🇺🇦Portugal vai fechar o seu espaço aéreo a companhias de aviação da Rússia. Tomamos esta medida em articulação com os nossos parceiros europeus e em resposta à agressão da Rússia contra a Ucrânia.
— N Estrangeiros PT (@nestrangeiro_pt) February 27, 2022
Updated
Russian police detained more than 900 people at anti-war protests in 44 Russian cities on Sunday, independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info said.
That means over 4,000 protesters have been arrested since the invasion, underscoring the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent.
Some of the protests on Sunday tied into the anniversary of Putin-critic Boris Nemtsov’s killing seven years ago.
Meanwhile, there have been queues at ATMs in Moscow as people respond to western Swift sanctions.
Updated
Ukraine's foreign minister: Ukraine-Russia talks with no preconditions 'already a victory'
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said “we will not give up a single inch of our territory” ahead of talks agreed between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
Russia initially said it did not want talks, then said it wanted talks with conditions. Now, after a series of military setbacks that some observers say may have shocked Russian president Vladimir Putin, the conditions have been dropped – which Kuleba said was “already a victory”.
One element of the talks, Kuleba said, are that Belarus agreed it would not use military force against Ukraine “between now and the moment that the talks wrap up”.
Kuleba struck an optimistic tone during the briefing on Sunday, assuring reporters “we will prevail, I’m absolutely confident in that.”
“This is a war between president Putin and the people of Ukraine,” he said, adding: “We are determined to defeat Russia, the same way we defeated the previous monster in Europe 80 years ago.”
He urged allies to provide more military supplies in the battle against Russia.
Kuleba, responding to questions about nuclear attacks, said that if Ukraine was attacked with nuclear weapons it would be “a catastrophe”, but said it would not break the Ukrainian spirit. He said Putin’s order to put nuclear deterrence on high alert was a strategy to raise the stakes ahead of the talks.
Updated
Nato chief: Putin's nuclear rhetoric is 'dangerous' and irresponsible
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, said “this is dangerous rhetoric” over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s order to put the country’s nuclear military deterrence on high alert.
“This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behaviour which is irresponsible,” Stoltenberg said on CNN.
“And of course when you combine this rhetoric with what they are doing on the ground in Ukraine – waging war against an independent, sovereign nation, conducting full-fledged invasion of Ukraine – this adds to the seriousness of the situation.”
More to come as the US reaches mid-morning on the east coast and the broadcast round begins in earnest. US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield is speaking to NBC.
Updated
More on the possible meeting between Ukrainian and Russian officials from AP.
It reports that the office of Ukraine’s president has confirmed that a delegation will meet Russian officials as Moscow’s troops draw closer to Kyiv.
The office of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border and did not give a precise time for the meeting, the news agency reports.
The announcement came hours after Russia announced that its delegation had flown to Belarus to await talks. Ukrainian officials initially rejected the move, saying any talks should take place elsewhere than Belarus, where Russia has placed a large contingent of troops.
Updated
WHO: Thousands of lives at risk by falling Ukrainian oxygen supplies
The World Health Organization is worried about supplies of medicinal oxygen to Ukraine, warning the majority of hospitals could run out in 24 hours.
The director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and WHO’s regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, called for a safe passage for supplies, including via a logistics corridor through Poland.
They said: “Trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country, including the capital, Kyiv. The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of lives at risk.”
Updated
In Greece the first of two military transport planes, loaded with defence equipment, has departed from Eleusina for Ukraine. Portable rocket launchers, ammunition and Kalashnikov rifles will be aboard the two C130’s. The shipments will be delivered via Poland.
Athens’ deputy defence minister, Nikos Hardalias, will oversee the dispatch of humanitarian assistance later in the day when two cargo carriers also head for Poland.
The aid comes amid a brewing row between Russia and Greece regarding Athens’ stance over Ukraine. Despite the two Orthodox nations having traditionally strong ties, culturally and politically, Greece has sided firmly with its fellow EU and Nato partners throughout the crisis and given US forces unfettered access to four military bases across the country.
Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has denounced Moscow’s invasion as a violation of international law and called for the violence to end.
Greek fury mounted on Saturday following the deaths of ten members of the country’s large diaspora in Russian air strikes close to Mariupol - home to some 120,000 ethnic Greeks - in south east Ukraine.
On Sunday Russia’s embassy in Athens issued a statement in which it urged Greek politicians, the media and political party leaders to “come round, assume their responsibilities, stop the anti-Russian propaganda and to show level headedness, clarity and seriousness.” It berated Greek officials for failing to show any sympathy for the loss of Russian lives in Donbas and deplored the decision to decorate official buildings and fountains in Athens in Ukrainian colours.
EU officials have noted that the leadership of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and particularly his intervention by video at the European council on the Thursday night, has been a key driver in a change in approach towards the crisis by the 27 member states and their leaders.
In his appeal for aid during the leaders’ late night summit in Brussels, Zelenskiy had told the EU’s heads of state and government that with Kyiv encircled it may be the last time they would see him.
An EU official said: “I think the intervention by president Zelenskiy will be part of history. It was very emotional, the leaders were deeply impacted, the silence in the room was impressive. A heavy atmosphere.”
They said: “it made the difference to create this dynamic that we see today with leaders approving the transfer of delivery of weapons, Swift being on the list, and my guess is that it will continue”.
“Rational positions”, where leaders looked at their own interests, are also being moved by public opinion, an EU official said.
The consequences are that:
- Zelenskiy asked Charles Michel, president of the European council, for military equipment on Saturday and 18 member states have made donations, according to an EU official.
- Under the EU’s ‘European peace facility’ fund, the EU itself will now also fund the donation of “defensive weapons of a lethal nature” to Ukraine, under a proposal that will be put to member states. Those with an historically neutral status will be able to “constructively abstain” so that their financial contribution is spent on other projects.
- Later today, a proposal on closing down the airspace above the EU for Russian air carriers and prohibiting landing in airports will be put to member states. Around three-quarters of member states have unilaterally done so, an EU official said. This had been resisted until now due to concerns that Russia would respond by closing down its air space to EU carriers.
- The list of Russian banks that will be cut off from the Swift payments system is being coordinated by the European commission following a significant change of tack from the German government, an EU official said. The commission is seeking to have the move adopted by emergency procedure today.
- There is no movement by the EU on so-called ‘correspondent banking’, where EU financial institutions act as an agent on behalf of Russian financial institutions. The US and the UK have prohibited all Russian banks from such arrangements. It would be a major step for the EU in killing its annual €80bn of trade with Russia. But the EU is acting to prevent the Russian central bank from converting its euro reserves into Russian roubles.
- EU interior ministers will have a stock take on the capacity in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary to take in refugees from Ukraine. The EU official said the capacity is “quite huge”.
Updated
US announces £40m humanitarian aid for Ukraine
The United States said on Sunday it is sending nearly $54m (£40m) in new humanitarian aid to Ukraine as it grapples with the Russian invasion.
The U.S. is providing nearly $54 million in additional humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. This assistance enables humanitarian organizations to support citizens of Ukraine already in need and those newly affected by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 27, 2022
AFP has the details from Washington:
Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US is focused on Ukraine’s “urgent humanitarian needs as an important part of our response to Russia’s premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack.”
This new assistance to be channelled through NGOs includes “provision of food, safe drinking water, shelter, emergency health care, winterization and protection,” Blinken said in a statement.
Blinken said the new assistance will also help aid groups maintain contact between family members who have been separated by the war, “hopefully leading to reunification in some cases.”
Blinken commended neighboring countries for taking in fleeing Ukrainians “and we are engaging diplomatically to support their efforts to keep their borders open and assist those seeking international protection.”
The United States has now provided Ukraine with nearly $405 million in aid since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014 and seized the Crimean peninsula, the statement said.
Updated
Zelenskiy: Ukrainian and Russian delegations to meet without preconditions
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet without preconditions.
Breaking news, details to follow.
At least 15 European countries ban Russian flights from airspace
The Italian government announced on Sunday that it was closing its airspace to Russia, following a raft of other EU countries as they tighten sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The measure involves a ban on all civil or military aircraft coming from Russia or which belong to a Russian company.
“Italy has closed its airspace to Russia,” a statement from the office of the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, said.
Italy is among 14 EU countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Poland to have shut off their airspace to Russian aircraft. The UK shut its airspace off to Russian flights last week.
Moscow responded by closing its airspace to commercial and transit flights from EU countries, with the measure so far aimed at planes linked or registered to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Austrian Airlines said on Saturday it was cancelling flights to Russia and avoiding Russian airspace for at least seven days. Swiss International Air Lines is maintaining flights for now.
Updated
The UK foreign secretary Liz Truss has said she would support Britons wanting to go to Ukraine to help it fight the Russian invasion.
In an interview on BBC One’s Sunday Morning programme, she replied “absolutely” when asked whether she would back anyone wanting to volunteer to help the Ukrainians fighting for their freedom.
She told the programme: “That is something people can make their own decisions about. The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe.
“Absolutely, if people want to support that struggle I would support them in doing that.”
Until now there has been almost no evidence of foreigners going to Ukraine to join the battle against the Russian invasion. But on Sunday, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he would be setting up an international legion for volunteers.
Read the full report from my colleague Andrew Sparrow here.
Putin orders Russia's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, US attacks 'unacceptable' escalation
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to put the country’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert in response to “aggressive statements” by Nato countries.
The order, which was announced by the state-run Tass news agency, came at a meeting between Putin, defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Russia, Valery Gerasimov.
“Senior officials of the leading Nato countries also allow aggressive statements against our country, therefore I order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff [of the Russian Armed Forces] to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty,” Putin said in the statement.
It is not immediately clear what the “special mode of combat duty” entailed. Putin has warned foreign countries not to interfere in his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying it could lead to “consequences they have never seen”. He has positioned anti-air missiles and other advanced missile systems in Belarus and deployed his fleet to the Black Sea in an effort to prevent a western intervention in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion has left hundreds dead. Russia has launched missile strikes against buildings in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other major Ukrainian cities as it threatens an all-out assault not seen since the time of the second world war.
The US responded that this was an “unacceptable” escalation, US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Sunday.
“It means that President Putin is continuing to escalate this war in a manner that is totally unacceptable and we have to continue to stem his actions in the strongest possible way,” Thomas-Greenfield said in interview with CBS’ Face the Nation.
Updated
Emotional video here of a Ukrainian-German interpreter breaking down in tears while translating Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s speech on Sunday.
Ukrainian-German interpreter breaks down in tears while translating @ZelenskyyUa speech. #UkraineUnderAttack #StandWithUkraine #RussiaGoHome pic.twitter.com/Byno9Qsu79
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) February 27, 2022
The tweet from Ukraine’s former ambassador to Austria features a video of the translator breaking down.
In the speech, among other things, Zelenskiy urged world leaders to strip Russia of its voting power on the UN Security Council and added: “Russia’s criminal actions against Ukraine bear signs of genocide”. Ukraine filed a lawsuit to the UN International Court of Justice at the Hague on Sunday.
He added Russia was bombarding residential areas but warned “we will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country”.
“The past night in Ukraine was brutal, again shooting, again bombardments of residential areas, civilian infrastructure.”
Updated
France has become the latest country to close its airspace to Russian flights, the transport minister said on Sunday.
“France is shutting its airspace to all Russian aircraft and airlines from this evening on”, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said.
France is shutting its airspace to all Russian aircraft and airlines from this evening on. To the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe responds with total unity.
— Jean-Baptiste Djebbari (@Djebbari_JB) February 27, 2022
The EU is deciding later on Sunday whether to impose a bloc-wide ban, after many EU countries chose to take action independently.
Norway and Belgium are among countries who also announced similar measures on Sunday.
Updated
Israel’s prime minister Naftali Bennett offered his country’s services as a mediator to bring peace to Ukraine in a telephone conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Moscow said the conversation had been an Israeli initiative. The statement added Putin told Bennett that Russia had its delegation in the Belarusian city of Gomel ready to negotiate with Kyiv, but the Ukrainian side had “not seized the opportunity, in a show of incoherence”.
That characterisation was robustly rejected on Sunday by Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he remains open to talks in other locations that are not showing aggression towards Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president added that talks in Minsk could have been possible if Russia had not attacked Ukraine from Belarusian territory.
Meanwhile, UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said she doesn’t trust Russian “negotiation” efforts. “Now if the Russians are serious about negotiations they need to remove their troops from Ukraine,” she told Sky News. “They cannot negotiate with a gun to the head of the Ukrainians … So frankly, I don’t trust these so-called efforts of negotiations.”
Ukraine wins battle of Kharkiv, governor says
Ukrainian forces have repelled a Russian attempt to seize Kharkiv, the city’s governor claimed on Sunday, following fierce fighting and street battles with advancing Russian troops.
Kharkiv’s governor Oleh Synyehubov said Ukrainian soldiers were now “cleaning up” the eastern city. He said Russian soldiers were surrendering in groups of five to ten and throwing their equipment in the middle of the road.
“Control over Kharkiv is completely ours!” Synyehubov posted on Facebook. “A complete cleansing of the city from the enemy is happening. The Russian enemy is absolutely demoralised.”
Earlier the governor said Russian light military vehicles had broken “into the city” including in central areas. They arrived in the northern suburbs at 8am, he said. He urged all civilians to stay inside. “Citizens of Kharkiv, don’t leave shelter, don’t use transport,” he said.
Videos circulating on social media showed images of Russian troops moving through residential areas and past Soviet-era apartment blocks. Soldiers on foot used armoured vehicles as cover. Their vehicles were marked with Z, the symbol of Russia’s four-day invasion.
But other footage suggested the Ukrainian military had inflicted losses. There were images of a destroyed Russian column and pictures of a firefight in the south-east of the city. A group of Russian soldiers took refuge in an empty school, number 88, witnesses said, close to Traktornyi Zavod subway station.
Ukrainian soldiers armed with Kalshnikovs and grenade launchers sheltered behind a wall and trees, emerging to open fire. There was fighting reported around Shevchenko avenue. In another part of the city local fighters strolled around destroyed Russian vehicles, inspecting the damage and salvaging military equipment.
The attempted Russian operation to seize Kharkiv followed a night of heavy bombardment. At least one multi-storey apartment block was hit. Residents said the attacks were “massive and indiscriminate”, with a missile landing in a children’s playground next to a see-saw.
Artem Volodymyrovich, a 31-year-old English teacher, said Russian units had advanced from the north. They passed Peremoha metro station, the final stop on the city’s green line, and headed towards the centre, he told the Guardian, speaking from a basement shelter.
“Diversionary Russian groups have been getting into Kharkiv. We can hear gunshots. Our army is still in the city. Ukrainians are still in control, volunteers are working, the mayor is in charge, and we are fighting back,” he said, at 11am local time.
Volodymyrovich said he was hiding in a basement together with 30 people, mostly women, children and elderly. One of the group was an electrician who had fixed the power supply, allowing people to charge their phones. It was his third night in a shelter, he said.
“The bombing has been really heavy. The metro stopped working on Thursday afternoon and is now being used as a bomb shelter. The trains have been opened. People are sleeping in them because there isn’t enough space on the platforms.”
The city would defeat occupying Russian forces, he predicted. “I think yes. We are at home. People are fighting for their own homes, their families, their loved ones. It’s invasion for them, defence for us.”
He added: “I’m not a military guy. But if it comes to it I will take a fucking machine gun before I die like this and sit inside being shot, if they storm the basement. Better to die with arms in your hands.”
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, who posted videos of the battle on his Telegram channel, said the Russian army had overreached itself. “Kharkiv will become for Russians a Ukrainian Stalingrad,” he wrote.
It was too early to say on Sunday whether Moscow would mount another attempt to capture Kharkiv – or give up. The brutal bombardment of a city of 1.4m people showed Russia was now deliberately shelling civilians in suburban areas, locals said.
In an address posted online, Ukraine’s president Voldymyr Zelenskiy described the past night as brutal: “Again shooting, again bombardments of residential areas, and civilian infrastructure,” he said.
He added: “Today, there is not a single thing in the country that the occupiers do not consider an acceptable target. They fight against everyone. They fight against all living things – against kindergartens, against residential buildings and even against ambulances.”
He said Russian forces were “firing rockets and missiles at entire city districts in which there isn’t and never has been any military infrastructure. “Vasylkiv, Kyiv, Chernigiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and many other towns in Ukraine are living in conditions that were last experienced on our lands during world war two,” he claimed.
Updated
European Union interior ministers will hold emergency talks later today on aid for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the bloc.
At least 368,000 Ukrainians have already left their country and the number continues to rise, the UN refugee agency said earlier on Sunday. It has warned the conflict could lead to 4m refugees.
Most are fleeing to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
In Poland, there are waits of up to 70 hours to cross the border, according to an internal report by EU officials. The waiting time to enter Slovakia is seven hours and five emergency temporary camps were being constructed this weekend.
EU home affairs ministers will discuss how to provide humanitarian support in Ukraine. At least 17 EU member states have already offered medical equipment, tents and blankets after Kyiv requested aid from the EU’s civil protection mechanism on 15 February.
“All EU member states are called to respond to the best of their capacities to the request for assistance from the Ukrainian authorities,” states an internal note circulated to national capitals.
EU countries facing the largest numbers of arrivals have also been told they can trigger the aid mechanism to request contributions from other member states to help them manage arrivals.
The ministers will also look at giving a role to the EU’s border agency Frontex and police agency Europol, if refugee numbers continue to grow.
Updated
In a historic announcement to parliament, German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said a fund of €100bn will be set up immediately in order to boost the strength of its armed forces, as well as announcing a sustained increase in defence spending over the coming years.
Scholz admitted that the urgency of the Ukraine crisis had forced the decision to invest in the German military telling the emergency session of the Bundestag “it is clear that we must invest significantly more in the security of our country, in order to protect our freedom and democracy”.
He called it “Germany’s historical responsibility” to ensure that Russian president Vladimir Putin “does not turn the clocks back”.
Long-term, defence spending is to be increased year on year by more than 2% of GDP he said. It is currently around 1.5% with Germany having been under growing pressure for years from its Nato allies, in particular the US, to increase the amount. The existence of the special fund should be anchored in Germany’s constitution, Scholz said, in order to ensure it remained a guarantee beyond the life of the current parliament.
Germany has long been criticised by its allies for its resistance to increasing its defence spending. This position has been reinforced by a strong pacifist sentiment amongst the electorate linked to Germany’s bloody Nazi past. In recent weeks, the country was also under fire for having not offered enough material support in particular refusing to deliver lethal weapons to assist Ukraine to defend itself against Russia.
But a turning point came on Saturday evening when the government made the surprise announcement that it would be sending weapons and other supplies to Ukraine, including 1,000 anti-tank weapons, 500 surface to air Stinger missiles and thousands of gallons of petrol.
The decision marks a historical break with Germany’s post-war pledge to not export weapons to conflict zones.
It has also lifted certain restrictions on German-manufactured weapons being sent to conflict zones from third countries, such as Estonia and the Netherlands.
The announcement to parliament was greeted with relief and surprise, with Scholz receiving a standing ovation on Sunday morning, even as some MPs mainly from the leftwing Links Partei as well as the far-right AfD groaned in disapproval.
During his half-hour address, Scholz said Putin’s decision to launch a cold-blooded war of aggression “marked a turning point in the history of our continent”. The military conflict would be a lengthy one he said, stressing that he saw it as “Putin’s war” and “not a war of the Russian people”. He said the conflict would alter the world. He called it “a catastrophe for Ukraine” but said it would “also prove to be a catastrophe for Russia”.
Scholz issued five “mandates for action”.
- The first was the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, which he said “can be the only answer to Putin’s aggression”.
- The second was to support sanctions against Russian interests including the suspension of the Swift payment system.
- Ensuring that the war does not spill over into other countries, citing the importance of Nato’s article 5.
- Significant increase in German military spending; as well as other historical strategic changes, including, in effort to decrease German dependence on Russian gas, the construction of two terminals allowing the import of Liquid Petroleum Gas, in the ports of Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven.
This follows his decision last week to suspend approval of the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, effectively killing the multibillion-euro project.
Finally, Scholz said he was determined to keep up the diplomatic effort. “We need as much diplomacy as possible, without being naïve,” he said, adding that Germany would not refuse to hold talks with Russia. “Even in this extreme situation it is the job of diplomacy to keep open channels of communication,” he said. “Anything else would be irresponsible.”
Updated
The deputy commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces Yevhen Moisiuk has issued a video appeal, in Russian, to Russian soldiers:
“Think about why you are here, what are you fighting for, and what you want to achieve? I hope you’ve realised that nobody wants you here and there is no reason for you to be here,” he said.
“Believe me: our cause is just, and you are just a tool in the hands of your government. We are giving you the chance to return to your families, and not to lose your life and dignity.
“Lay down your weapons and put your hands in the air, so that our soldiers and civilians understand that you have heard us. This will be your ticket home. Go and defend your own country, and don’t destroy ours.”
Belarus about to join Russian invasion, says former Ukrainian defence minister
Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defence minister, says Belarus is about to declare war on Ukraine, writes Luke Harding in Lviv.
Zagorodnyuk reports:
“Republic of Belarus is highly likely to join the Russian war against Ukraine. On Russian side. There is an information about airborne troopers from Republic of Belarus loaded on the planes to enter Ukraine.
This is a terrible development as it involves a country, which until very recently was a great friend of Ukraine; which people always considered Ukraine as a brotherly nation. Ukraine and Belarus has never been to war one with another in their many hundred years of history.
We believe that the only reason for that decision was personal demand from President of Russia, which completely depends from Putin in its policy.”
Updated
Further defence material will be provided to Ukraine from the Czech government, prime minister Petr Fiala said on Sunday.
Fiala said that he could not give any details on the shipment, Reuters reports, but his government will have an extraordinary session later on Sunday.
The government sent machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth 188 million crowns (about £6.4m) on Saturday.
Japan has joined western countries to block many Russian banks from the Swift payment system, prime minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday.
Kishida added Japan will put sanctions on Russian president Vladimir Putin and extend $100m in emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Kishida has condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine, saying it undermines the foundation of the international order.
People demonstrated in Japan’s capital Tokyo and around the world on Saturday to protest against Putin’s invasion.
Updated
The Pope has said his “heart is broken” over the invasion of Ukraine at his weekly Sunday address in Vatican City.
The head of the Catholic church said: “God is with peacemakers, not with those who use violence,” according to a Reuters reporter at the Vatican.
In words that seemed to take direct aim at Russian president Vladimir Putin, Pope Francis condemned people who “trust in the diabolic and perverse logic of weapons”.
The Pope said there’s an urgent need to open humanitarian corridors for refugees and told people to “welcome them”, after the UN warned there have already been 368,000 refugees and could be as many as 4 million.
Speaking to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, the Pope expressed his “deep pain for the tragic events” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Vatican said.
Updated
More countries have imposed airspace sanctions on Russian flights and banned them from their airspaces.
Denmark announced a ban on Sunday and said it is pushing for an EU-wide ban.
Denmark will be closing its airspace for Russian aircraft
— Jeppe Kofod (@JeppeKofod) February 27, 2022
At today’s meeting of EU ministers of foreign affairs we will push for an EU-wide ban#Russia’s unprovoked, despicable attack on #Ukraine must be met with strongest possible international sanctions & condemnation#dkpol pic.twitter.com/GJo0CphqGx
Likewise, Iceland, the Netherlands and Italy on Sunday announced similar measures.
Iceland has decided to close its airspace to Russian air traffic, in solidarity with #Ukraine 🇮🇸 🇺🇦
— Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir (@thordiskolbrun) February 27, 2022
Other countries including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany and Poland have blocked airspace to Russian flights, provoking huge Russian detours. On Saturday, Lithuania said it will block Russian flights, cutting a quick route from Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave to Ukraine.
Russia has blocked airspace to a raft of countries in tit-for-tat sanctions.
Updated
UN: Ukrainian refugee numbers reach 368,000
The UN Refugee Agency said the number of people fleeing Ukraine has reached 368,000, Reuters reports, after warning it could rise to as much as 4 million.
People have fled to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania.
Meanwhile, Polish border guards say 156,000 people have crossed from Ukraine in recent days, AFP reports.
“Since the start of the hostilities in Ukraine on 24 February, border guard officers processed a total of 187,800 people at all the crossings with Ukraine,” Poland’s border guards tweeted. (More than 156,000 were Ukraine to Poland crossings, they said.)
“Yesterday alone, a record number of people were processed … including 77,300 into Poland’ from Ukraine, they added.
Updated
Zelenskiy: Ukraine files lawsuit against Russia to Hague
Ukraine has filed a lawsuit against Russia to the UN international court of justice at the Hague, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, the court that settles disputes between states regarding international law.
Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022
“Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ,” he wrote on Twitter. “Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week.”
It follows the president’s claims that Russia’s actions – by bombing kindergartens, residential areas and non-military infrastructure zones – bear the marks of “genocide”.
The goal is to prove Russian president Vladimir Putin is “a main war criminal” of the 21st century, prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian TV.
Updated
Germany hikes defence spending to €100bn after Russia's Ukraine invasion
Germany departed from longstanding policy again on Sunday with chancellor Olaf Scholz announcing the government will supply €100bn for military investments from its 2022 budget.
“We will have to invest more in the security of our country to protect out freedom and democracy,” Scholz told lawmakers, receiving a standing ovation. That means Germany will spend over 2% of economic output on defence.
Germany has long-resisted boosting its defence spending after the horrors of the 20th century, with the announcement marking a big policy shift.
On Saturday, Scholz approved military support from the Netherlands to go to Ukraine, and delivered its own anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, breaking another longstanding policy of refusing to send weapons to conflict zones.
“There could be no other answer to Putin’s aggression,” Scholz said.
Updated
Turkey referred to the Russian invasion as a “war” on Sunday, marking a strengthening of its rhetoric that could pave the way for a blockade of Russian ships through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits connecting the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
“On the fourth day of the Ukraine war, we repeat president Erdogan’s call for an immediate halt of Russian attacks and the start of ceasefire negotiations,” presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.
On the fourth day of the Ukraine war, we repeat President Erdoğan’s call for an immediate halt of Russian attacks and the start of ceasefire negotiations.
— Ibrahim Kalin (@ikalin1) February 27, 2022
We will continue our efforts to help the people of Ukraine and end bloodshed in this unjust and unlawful war.
Reuters reports the details from Istanbul:
Under the 1936 Montreux convention, Turkey has control over the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits that connect the Mediterranean and Black seas and can limit the passage of warships during wartime or if threatened.
Balancing its western commitments and close ties to Moscow, Ankara has said the Russian attack is unacceptable but until Sunday had not described the situation as a war.
Kyiv has appealed to Ankara to block any more Russian warships from passing toward the Black Sea, from which Moscow has launched one of its incursions on Ukraine’s southern coast.
But Turkey’s foreign minister said on Friday that Russia had the right under Montreux to return ships to their home base, which could limit any Turkish policy shift.
Turkey has cultivated good ties with both Russia and Ukraine. Any step too far against Moscow could harm its heavy energy and commodity imports and its tourism sector at a time of domestic economic turmoil.
Updated
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar has claimed Russian forces have lost about 4,300 servicemen. It was not possible for the Guardian to immediately independently verify the figure.
Malyar also said on Facebook that Russian troops have lost about 146 tanks, 27 aircraft and 26 helicopters, Reuters reports.
It comes after the Economist reported on Friday: “Despite being outgunned and outnumbered, Ukraine inflicted more casualties in 24 hours than Russia suffered over eight years of engagements in Syria.”
Updated
Really powerful photo shared here by a journalist in Ukraine.
“Thank you mr. Putin for such change in my life from professional journalist to refuge from biggest country in Europe,” she writes.
Thank you mr. Putin for such change in my life from professional journalist to refuge from biggest country in Europe. pic.twitter.com/uPPwx5fB03
— Sofia Koczmar (@SKoczmar) February 27, 2022
Russians honour Putin-critic Boris Nemtsov on 7th anniversary of killing
Russians gathered on Sunday morning to lay flowers and mark the seventh anniversary of the killing of Boris Nemtsov, a top Russian opposition figure.
Nemtsov, 55, a former deputy prime minister under ex-president Boris Yeltsin and vocal Kremlin critic under president Vladimir Putin, was shot to death as he walked along the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow late at night on Feb. 27, 2015.
“Boris would have been in shock about this war. We really miss his presence today,” said Tatyana Golika while laying flowers on the bridge.
Muscovites are gathering to commemorate and lay flowers in memory of murdered anti-war liberal politician Boris Nemtsov,
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) February 27, 2022
An officer in the security forces of Chechnya leader Kadyrov, who yesterday said his forces will enter Ukraine, was sentenced to 20 years for the murder pic.twitter.com/EpWc58oJAM
During his life, Nemtsov has repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s military campaigns, including the country’s wars in Chechnya and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
“Boris Nemtsov has always been against military conflicts: he collected a million signatures against the war in Chechnya in the mid-90s! He organized anti-war marches in Moscow in 2014 and 2015. Nemtsov Foundation is against the war with Ukraine! Our solidarity is with the Ukrainian people,” Nemtsov’s daughter Zhanna wrote on her Facebook on Thursday following Russia’s invasion.
In 2017, Chechen gunman Zaur Dadayev and four accomplices received long jail sentences for the killing of Nemtsov near the Kremlin. Dadayev had been under the command of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. Nemtsov’s family has repeatedly criticized the murder investigation for failing to bring the real masterminds to justice.
“I’m against war. I don’t want body bags coming to Moscow, Yaroslav, Nizhny. I don’t want our mothers, wives, children crying. What will Putin achieve? Ukraine as an enemy, iron curtain, sanctions…” Boris Nemtsov said this in 2014. It's 7 years today since Nemtsov was murdered.
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) February 27, 2022
In a video posted online on Saturday, Kadyrov, who has often described himself as Putin’s “foot soldier,” said Chechen fighters had been deployed in Ukraine.
Updated
Greece will send defence equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the prime minister’s office said on Sunday.
It follows Greece’s attacks on Russia on Saturday during which 10 ethnic Greeks were killed during its invasion of Ukraine, it said.
10 innocent civilians of Greek origin killed today by Russian air strikes close to Mariupol. Stop the bombing now!
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) February 26, 2022
Newswire AFP reports the details from Athens:
Two military transport planes were to depart for Poland on Sunday, prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office said in a statement, without adding further details about what equipment they would be carrying.
A separate shipment of humanitarian aid was also to be sent the same day, accompanied by deputy defence minister Nikos Hardalias, it added.
The Russian embassy in Athens pushed back on Sunday, saying it did not bomb “inhabited areas and villages”.
In response, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou on Sunday accused the embassy of “fake news”. “Orthodox bombs killed Orthodox ethnic Greeks,” he said according to AFP, and summoned the Russian embassy.
Updated
The European Union is weighing up banning Russian flights in its airspace, an EU official told Reuters.
Foreign ministers will discuss the plans later on Sunday. Many countries have already taken the decision individually but an EU-wide measure could be part of a new package of sanctions.
Romania will send provisions and equipment worth £2.5m to Ukraine and has offered to care for the wounded in military and civilian hospitals, government spokesperson Dan Carbunaru said on Sunday.
The equipment includes: fuel, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, helmets, military equipment, food and water.
Reuters reports the details from Bucharest:
In cooperation with Ukrainian border authorities, Romanian ambulances will pick up children, pregnant women and the elderly waiting in long queues to cross the border into Romania at the north-eastern Siret crossing, speeding up the process, he said.
Local authorities in border counties have already sent buses carrying food, blankets and winter clothes to Solotvyno and Chernivtsi just across the Ukrainian border.
Updated
For a round-up of the international response to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s worth checking out this article from my colleagues – which says Putin is increasingly isolated and losing key allies.
Vladimir Putin was facing growing international isolation and the prospect of pariah status on Saturday night as long-term allies dramatically turned against him following the invasion of Ukraine, and western nations planned further decisive military and financial action against Moscow.
As his hopes of a quick victory evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and armies of citizen volunteers, Russia’s president was deserted by his key ally, China, and had his ultimatum demanding Kyiv’s surrender defiantly brushed aside by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In perhaps the most striking development, Germany announced on Saturday night that it would supply Ukrainian troops with 1,000 anti-tank weapons as well as 500 Stinger missiles from its own military reserves ...
In further blows to Putin, Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orbán, long seen as friendly towards Moscow, abandoned his support, saying he would back all EU sanctions against Russia, while Turkey was reported to be considering blocking the passage of Russian naval vessels into the Black Sea.
UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday that the conflict could be protracted, potentially drawn out for years.
Meanwhile, the UAE said on Sunday it was not “taking sides”, Reuters reports.
The UAE “believes that taking sides would only lead to more violence”, said Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to UAE president Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. “In the Ukrainian crisis, our priority is to encourage all parties to resort to diplomatic action and to negotiate to find a political solution.”
Updated
UK foreign secretary: don't trust Russian 'negotiation' efforts
The UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said she doesn’t trust Russian “negotiation” efforts.
“Now if the Russians are serious about negotiations they need to remove their troops from Ukraine,” she told Sky News. “They cannot negotiate with a gun to the head of the Ukrainians … So frankly, I don’t trust these so-called efforts of negotiations.”
Truss said that this could be the beginning of the end for Russian president Vladimir Putin. She added there will be more sanctions in the coming days and she has compiled a list of oligarchs.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy is calling for stronger sanctions on the broadcast round this morning.
Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence has posted an intelligence update on the conflict, saying Russian forces are bypassing Chernihiv after strong resistance to focus on encircling Kyiv.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on Ukraine pic.twitter.com/xEssfe1crQ
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 27, 2022
“Ukrainian forces have engaged the remnants of Russian irregular forces within the city of Kyiv for the second night in a row, fighting has been at a lower intensity than the previous evening,” it said.
“After encountering strong resistance in Chernihiv, Russian forces are bypassing the area in order to prioritise the encirclement and isolation of Kyiv.”
“Intensive exchanges of rocket artillery overnight have been followed by heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv,” it added. “Russian forces are continuing to advance into Ukraine from multiple axis but are continuing to be met with stiff resistance from the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Updated
Zelenskiy: Russia is bombarding residential areas
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia was bombarding residential areas in Ukraine, AFP reports, but warned “we will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country”.
In an address posted online, Zelenskiy said: “The past night in Ukraine was brutal, again shooting, again bombardments of residential areas, civilian infrastructure.”
“Today, there is not a single thing in the country that the occupiers do not consider an acceptable target. They fight against everyone. They fight against all living things – against kindergartens, against residential buildings and even against ambulances.”
He said Russian forces were “firing rockets and missiles at entire city districts in which there isn’t and never has been any military infrastructure”.
“Vasylkiv, Kyiv, Chernigiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and many other towns in Ukraine are living in conditions that were last experienced on our lands during world war two.”
Zelenskiy urged world leaders to strip Russia of its voting power on the UN Security Council and added: “Russia’s criminal actions against Ukraine bear signs of genocide”.
Updated
Finland will close its airspace to Russian planes, joining a raft of other European countries.
Finland “is preparing to close its airspace to Russian air traffic”, transport minister Timo Harakka wrote on Twitter. Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia.
Other countries including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany and Poland have blocked airspace to Russian flights, provoking huge detours. On Saturday, Lithuania said it will block Russian flights, cutting a quick route from Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave to Ukraine.
Suomi valmistautuu ilmatilan sulkemiseen venäläiseltä lentoliikenteeltä. 🇫🇮🇺🇦
— Timo Harakka 🏳️🌈🇫🇮 (@TimoHarakka) February 26, 2022
Russia has retaliated and banned multiple countries from its airspace in response to the sanctions.
Meanwhile, Finland is also scheduled to approve the dispatch of a consignment of bullet-proof vests, helmets and a mobile hospital to Ukraine. It has previously approved the shipment of about 40 artillery guns to Ukraine.
Updated
Google has banned RT’s mobile app from its app store, the Russian state-controlled international television network said.
The decision was taken at the request of the Ukrainian government, Reuters reports.
It comes after Google on Saturday said it is pausing monetisation of Russian state-funded media and barring the outlets from running ads across its services.
In addition, Russian media will not be able to buy ads through Google Tools or place ads on Google services such as search and Gmail, spokesman Michael Aciman said.
“We’re actively monitoring new developments and will take further steps if necessary,” Aciman said.
This is Jem Bartholomew in London taking over the blog for Sunday. Do get in touch via email or Twitter with tips.
Updated
Summary
Before I hand over to my colleague, Jem Bartholomew, here is where the situation currently stands:
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Russian troops entered Kharkiv in Ukraine’s north-east at about 8am on Sunday, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister and other officials said. It is the country’s second-largest city.
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The Ukrainian army said it shot down a cruise missile fired at Kyiv from a Belarusian Tu-22 aircraft this morning.
- Russian president Vladimir Putin made a brief televised address this morning, marking his first public remarks since Friday. Putin referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special operation to provide assistance to the people’s republics of the Donbas” and saluted the “heroism” of Russian special forces fighting in Ukraine.
- The Russian delegation claimed it was “ready for talks” with the Ukrainians in Belarus, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russia news agency RIA Novosti. Zelenskiy rejected the claims.
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Google has said it is pausing monetisation of Russian state-funded media and barring the outlets from running ads across its services, according to a statement seen by Reuters.
- Western allies have agreed to block Russia’s access to the Swift international banking payment system. The US, Canada and key European countries, including Germany, have agreed to remove “selected Russian banks” from the Swift payment system, the countries announced on Saturday.
- There are reports that a gas pipeline is on fire in Kharkiv after a Russian attack, while an oil terminal in Vasylkiv, south-west of the capital, Kyiv, has also been targeted. The government has warned that smoke from the explosion in Kharkiv could cause an “environmental catastrophe” and advised people to cover their windows.
- The 13 Ukrainian soldiers who were reportedly killed while defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment – reportedly telling a Russian navy warship to “go fuck yourself” when asked to surrender – may still be alive, according to Ukrainian officials.
- Britain is preparing a “hit list” of Russian oligarchs to be targeted by sanctions in the coming months, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said.
- Truss said there would be “nowhere left to hide” for the super-rich allies of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin. She told the Sunday Times that new names would be added to the list every few weeks as ministers seek to ratchet up the pressure on Putin.
- Liquor stores and bars in the US and Canada are targeting Russia’s national drink in a show of unity with the people of Ukraine. Shelves in both countries are being stripped of Russian vodka, with the Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, announcing on Saturday the removal of “Russian-made and Russian-branded spirits from our liquor and wine outlets until further notice”.
- Japanese billionaire Hiroshi ‘Mickey’ Mikitani has said he will donate $8.7m to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia’s invasion “a challenge to democracy”. The founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten said in a letter addressed to Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the donation of 1bn yen ($8.7m) will go toward “humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence”, Agence France-Presse reported.
- A Ukrainian company in charge of building and maintaining roads said it was removing all road signs that could be used by invading Russian forces to find their way around the country. The company, Ukravtodor, said in a Facebook post: “The enemy has poor communications, they cannot navigate the terrain. Let us help them get straight to hell.”
Updated
Zelenskiy urges all foreign citizens to join Ukraine in war against Russia
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking foreign citizens around the world to join in the war against Russia.
A statement on the presidential website reads:
The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy is addressing all citizens of the world, friends of Ukraine, peace and democracy. Anyone who wants to join the defence of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals.”
According to Regulation on Military Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine by citizens of their countries and stateless persons approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine #248 of June 10, 2016, foreigners have the right to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine for military service under Contract of a voluntary basis to be included in the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forced of Ukraine, the statement adds.
A separate subdivision is being formed of foreigners entitled the International Legion for the Territorial Defence of Ukraine. There is no greater contribution which you can make for the sake of peace.”
Updated
Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, has also offered a response to the Russian delegation’s claim it is “ready for talks” with Ukraine in Belarus.
Podolyak said the Russian delegation arrived to Gomel, a city in south-eastern Belarus, knowing it is pointless.
He reiterated that Zelenskiy’s position remains the same – only real talks, zero ultimatums.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejects Russian claim it is ready for talks in Belarus
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has responded to claims made by the Russian delegation that it is “ready for talks” with Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier told reporters the Russian delegation had arrived in Belarus for talks and are “now waiting for the Ukrainians”.
In a national address on Sunday morning, Zelenskiy said he remains open to talks in other locations that are not showing aggression towards Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president added that talks in Minsk could have been possible if Russia had not attacked Ukraine from Belarusian territory.
Earlier, we reported that the Ukrainian army said it shot down a “winged rocket” fired at Kyiv from a Belarusian Tu-22 aircraft this morning.
“The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine a few minutes ago shot down a winged rocket launched in the capital of Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus by a TU-22 plane,” commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in a statement about 9am local time.
“This is another war crime of the Russian Federation and Russia,” he added.
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Russian delegation says 'ready for talks' with Ukraine in Belarus
The Russian delegation has reportedly arrived in Belarus for talks with the Ukrainians, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russia news agency RIA Novosti.
According to him, the delegation included representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of defence and other departments, including the presidential administration.
“The Russian delegation is ready for talks, and we are now waiting for the Ukrainians,” Peskov said.
The Belarusian foreign ministry said it had prepared everything necessary for the meeting and were now engaged in resolving protocol issues.
Updated
Russian president Vladimir Putin has made a brief televised address this morning, marking his first public remarks since Friday.
Putin referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special operation to provide assistance to the people’s republics of the Donbas” and saluted the “heroism” of Russian special forces fighting in Ukraine.
Interfax news agency reports Putin as saying:
I pay special tribute to those heroically performing their military duty during the special operation to provide assistance to the people’s republic of Donbas these days.”
Updated
The Ukrainian army has said it shot down a “winged rocket” fired at Kyiv from a Belarusian Tu-22 aircraft this morning.
“The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine a few minutes ago shot down a winged rocket launched in the capital of Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus by a TU-22 plane,” Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in a statement about 9am local time.
“This is another war crime of the Russian Federation and Russia,” he added.
Zaluzhnyi did not provide further detail surrounding what kind of weapon was used.
The Russian advance in Kharkiv is reportedly being met with fierce resistance.
Videos circulating across social and Ukrainian media showed images of military trucks driving through the city early Sunday.
Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, said that light military vehicles had “broke into the city” in a Facebook announcement about one hour ago.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said there was “heavy fighting” on the streets alongside video purporting to show enemy armoured cars on fire.
Synegubov urged residents to seek shelter and not go outside.
Updated
Air raids are sounding again in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv this morning, reports suggest.
An air raid siren was heard around 8am, a Reuters correspondent reported.
⚡️Air raid alert in Kyiv.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 27, 2022
People should go to the closest shelter.
Russian troops enter Kharkiv
Russian troops have entered Kharkiv in Ukraine’s north-east, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister and other officials have said. It is the country’s second-largest city.
In a statement on his official Telegram account, Anton Gerashchenko said there was fighting in the centre of the city and in the area of the Hydropark.
“A group of special forces of the Russian Federation has just burst into the city through Alekseevka. On the street,” Gerashchenko said.
Oleg Sinegubov, the chairman of the Kharkiv regional state administration, announced “there has been a breakthrough in light equipment including in the central part of the city”, according to the Kyiv Independent. He urged local residents to remain in shelters.
Olga Tokariuk, a freelance correspondent in Kyiv, posted a video of a burning tank in a location purported to be Kharkiv to her Twitter this morning.
Russians have entered Kharkiv. Street battles audible pic.twitter.com/JX1eZfCe9h
— Roland Oliphant (@RolandOliphant) February 27, 2022
-1 Russian tank in Kharkiv https://t.co/gGUnPOusdY
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) February 27, 2022
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Popular American late-night live television show Saturday Night Live has made a powerful tribute to Ukraine by beginning the programme with a song from the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York.
Cast members Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong introduced viewers to the choir who sang Prayer for Ukraine.
“Prayer for Ukraine” performed by Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York pic.twitter.com/5pi2l1Olpx
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) February 27, 2022
Ukrainians are waking for the fourth day since Russia invaded and words of defiance are dominating social media this morning.
“It’s another morning in Ukraine and Russia still can’t advance in Kyiv,” Illia Ponomarenko, defence reporter at the Kyiv Independent writes.
“Even when we are attacked and everything around us is burning, we continue to work,” Ukraine’s armed forces tweeted early on Sunday.
It’s another morning in Ukraine and Russia still can’t advance in Kyiv 🇺🇦
— Illia Ponomarenko (@IAPonomarenko) February 27, 2022
The sun has risen in Ukraine. It's day four since Russia invaded. Kyiv is standing firmly. Russian war criminals hit an oil depot near Kyiv and a gas pipeline in Kharkiv with missiles, causing fire and environmental damage. Another missile hit close to a radioactive waste storage
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) February 27, 2022
In case you missed it earlier, a powerful video posted to social media shows a Ukrainian citizen attempting to stop a Russian tank with his body weight.
The man first climbs on to the tank before hopping down and attempting to push it back with his arms. When that fails, he kneels in front of the tank in a desperate bid to stop its advance.
The moment, captured in Bakhmach in northern Ukraine, is one of a string of defiant acts caught on video showing unarmed Ukrainians confronting Russian soldiers.
Here’s a quick snap from Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, praising his country for their resistance.
72 hours of resistance! The world didn’t believe. The world doubted. But we did not just stand, we confidently continue to fight with russian occupant!We showed the world - don’t be afraid 🇷🇺, be strong & repel it! Support of 🇺🇦 must be more stronger! Your safety depends on us! pic.twitter.com/SlHhv6tGuz
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) February 27, 2022
Updated
Reports are coming in from Ukrainian media of clashes with Russian saboteurs in the capital, Kyiv overnight.
The Kyiv Independent quotes Mykola Povoroznyk, first deputy head of Kyiv City State Administration, as confirming reports.
⚡️Kyiv is under control of Ukrainian military and territorial defense forces.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 27, 2022
Mykola Povoroznyk, first deputy head of Kyiv City State Administration, says there were a few clashes with saboteurs overnight.
Updated
Meanwhile, protests are continuing across the world in support of Ukraine.
From Sydney, Australia to London, UK and Vancouver, Canada, people have poured into city streets in their thousands to demand more action from their governments in holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.
Swift preparing to implement measures targeting Russian banks
The Swift international banking payment system has said it is preparing to implement western nations’ new measures targeting certain Russian banks in coming days after western allies agreed to block Russia’s access to the service.
In a statement, it said:
We are engaging with European authorities to understand the details of the entities that will be subject to the new measures and we are preparing to comply upon legal instruction.”
The move comes after the US, Canada and key European countries, including Germany, agreed to remove “selected Russian banks” from the Swift payment system.
The decision is expected to have a significant impact in Russia, and further afield. Sergei Aleksashenko, a former deputy chairman of Russia’s central banks, said “there is going to be a catastrophe” on the Russian currency market on Monday. “I think they will stop trading and then the exchange rate will be fixed at an artificial level just like in Soviet times,” he added.
Michael Farr, chief executive of financial consulting firm Farr, Miller & Washington, said of the impact on global markets: “This could be a surprise that is not taken very well if it means a slowdown in international trade.”
NBC News foreign correspondent, Raf Sanchez, who is currently in Moscow said his hotel asked him to “settle the bill early” because “they aren’t sure if credit cards are going to work once SWIFT sanctions kick in.”
My hotel in Moscow asked me to settle the bill early because they aren’t sure if credit cards are going to work once SWIFT sanctions kick in.
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) February 26, 2022
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Snake Island defenders may still be alive, Ukraine's State Border Guard says
The Ukrainian soldiers who defended an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment - reportedly telling an officer on board a Russian navy warship to “go f*** yourself” when asked to surrender, are believed to still be alive according to Ukrainian officials.
There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukraine that sits about 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday.
All 13 soldiers were believed to have died after refusing to surrender, Ukrainian officials announced.
However, in a recent statement, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said:
We [have a] strong belief that all Ukrainian defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island may be alive.
After receiving information about their possible location, the DPSU together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting work on identifying our soldiers.”
If you missed our earlier report, you can read it below.
Google bars Russian state-funded media from receiving money for ads
Google has said it is pausing monetisation of Russian state-funded media and barring the outlets from running ads across its services, according to a statement seen by Reuters.
Russia’s state-owned media outlet RT and other channels will be barred from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine.
Citing “extraordinary circumstances,” Google’s YouTube unit said it was “pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetise on YouTube.”
These included several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions, such as those by the European Union.
Ad placement is largely controlled by YouTube.
Google added later that it was also barring Russian state-funded media outlets from using its ad technology to generate revenue on their own websites and apps.
In addition, the Russian media will not be able to buy ads through Google Tools or place ads on Google services such as search and Gmail, spokesman Michael Aciman said.
“We’re actively monitoring new developments and will take further steps if necessary,” Aciman said.
On Wednesday, the European Union unveiled sanctions on individuals such as Margarita Simonyan, whom it called RT’s editor-in-chief and “a central figure” of Russian propaganda.
Videos from affected media will also come up less often in recommendations, YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shadloo said. He added that RT and several other channels would no longer be accessible in Ukraine after a Ukrainian government request.
Gas pipeline and oil terminal on fire after overnight attacks
A blaze at an oil terminal in the Ukrainian town of Vasylkiv, about 30km, or 18 miles, southwest of the capital, Kyiv, overnight.
The town’s mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, said Russian missiles hit the oil storage area southwest of the air base’s main runway in a video posted online. The National News Agency of Ukraine later confirmed the reports.
Photographs and video posted online showed large flames rising under the night sky.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said on Telegram.
The missile attack was carried out on the Vasilkovskaya oil depot of the KLO company. Rescuers have already left for the scene of the tragedy. Most likely, there were no casualties. It will burn for a long time. The environmental damage will be colossal.”
The mayor of Vasylkiv, Natalia Balasinovich, also confirmed that rockets hit the oil depot, and a strong fire started.
The blaze prompted authorities to urge residents to close their windows to avoid breathing in smoke and harmful substances.
A natural gas pipeline was also blown up in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, after a Russian attack, the Ukrainian state service of special communications said.
A mushroom-shaped explosion was shown in a video it posted on the Telegram messaging app.
It was not immediately clear how important the pipeline was and whether the blast could disrupt gas shipments outside the city or the country.
Updated
Summary
As dawn breaks in Kyiv and multiples towns and cities across Ukraine wake to find scenes of destruction, here is where the situation currently stands:
- Western allies have agreed to block Russia’s access to the Swift international banking payment system. The US, Canada and key European countries, including Germany, have agreed to remove “selected Russian banks” from the Swift payment system, the countries announced on Saturday.
- There are reports that a gas pipeline is on fire in Kharkiv after a Russian attack, while an oil terminal in Vasylkiv, south-west of the capital, Kyiv, has also been targeted. The government has warned that smoke from the explosion in Kharkiv could cause an “environmental catastrophe” and advised people to cover their windows.
- The 13 Ukrainian soldiers who were reportedly killed while defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment – reportedly telling a Russian navy warship to “go fuck yourself” when asked to surrender – may still be alive, according to Ukrainian officials.
- Britain is preparing a “hit list” of Russian oligarchs to be targeted by sanctions in the coming months, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said.
- Truss said there would be “nowhere left to hide” for the super-rich allies of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin. She told the Sunday Times that new names would be added to the list every few weeks as ministers seek to ratchet up the pressure on Putin.
- Liquor stores and bars in the US and Canada are targeting Russia’s national drink in a show of unity with the people of Ukraine. Shelves in both countries are being stripped of Russian vodka, with the Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, announcing on Saturday the removal of “Russian-made and Russian-branded spirits from our liquor and wine outlets until further notice”.
- Japanese billionaire Hiroshi ‘Mickey’ Mikitani has said he will donate $8.7m to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia’s invasion “a challenge to democracy”. The founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten said in a letter addressed to Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the donation of 1bn yen ($8.7m) will go toward “humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence”, Agence France-Presse reported.
- A Ukrainian company in charge of building and maintaining roads said it was removing all road signs that could be used by invading Russian forces to find their way around the country. The company, Ukravtodor, said in a Facebook post: “The enemy has poor communications, they cannot navigate the terrain. Let us help them get straight to hell.”
