The Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs has referenced Ireland in a bizarre attempt to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia have been firing missiles and airstrikes all through Thursday night and Friday morning, with tanks rolling through the streets of Kyiv.
Explosions were heard in several cities as Russian troops advanced, while the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has also been seized after a "fierce battle".
Ukraine's Defence Ministry in a tweet said "the enemy" were in the district of Obolon, about 9km (5.5miles) north of Kyiv's parliament in the city centre.
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And while the Ukrainian president has been calling for reinforcements, Russian ministers have been defending their actions.
They include Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister.
In a press conference on Friday morning, Mr Lavrov fielded questions from reporters.
One of them was related to the potential banning of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Mr Lavrov responded: "For example if in Ireland they prohibited the English language, what would the UK think about it? I can't imagine that a law like that would last for more than a couple of days."
