Ukraine: Woman appears to confront Russian soldier
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On Thursday, Russia ordered troops to enter Ukraine from a number of different points on its border, after months of growing anxieties between Moscow and the West. The Kremlin has claimed its goal is the demilitarisation and “denazification” of Ukraine with hundreds of casualties already reported.
Russia’s attack on it’s ex-Soviet neighbour began shortly after a pre-dawn TV address from Mr Putin, on Thursday morning.
The first day of fighting saw Moscow target a number of Ukrainian military facilities, with forces advancing from Kharkiv in the north, Luhansk in the east, Russian-annexed Crimea in the south, and from Belarus too.
Overnight, Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit by blasts, with at least one block of flats damaged and several civilians injured.
Russian tanks were then seen entering the city for the first time on Friday. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has called on those living in the northern outskirts, where the tanks were seen, to make fire bombs “to neutralise the enemy”.
Speaking on Friday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was seeking to “destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state”.
He said: “According to the information we have, the enemy has designated me as target number one. My family is target number two.”
Ukraine has announced at least 137 people – civilians and soldiers – have been killed.
Although Russia has not admitted any deaths, both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on the other.
On Friday, the Kremlin said that after less than two days of conflict, Russia would be willing to hold talks with Ukrainian officials.
Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency: “The [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] has aired his vision as regards what we would expect from Ukraine in order to resolve these conceptually ‘redline’ problems.
“It is its neutral status and refusal to host weapons. And the question here is whether the leadership of Ukraine is ready for it.”
Mr Peskov later added that a “neutral status” of Ukraine would include “demilitarisation” and that Russia wants Ukraine to rule out ever joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).
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Mr Zelensky has repeatedly called for talks with Mr Putin, but has given no sign that he would agree to talks on the basis of “demilitarisation”.
After Russia launched its attack, Ukraine said it had severed all diplomatic ties with Moscow.
Mr Putin has been a vocal opponent of Nato and before invading, had demanded the military alliance limit its movements in eastern Europe.
The Russian President has claimed that allowing Ukraine entry into Nato would undermine the national security of Russia.
Earlier on Friday, the European Union (EU) revealed fresh sanctions against Mr Putin, freezing his personal assets on the continent.
The UK, US and other allies have all imposed harsher penalties against Russia since the invasion began, but have refused to commit soldiers to the conflict.
Instead, sanctions have focused at targeting Russia’s economy. However, it’s widely feared that these will not deter the Kremlin from its current path.
Mr Putin has threatened any country attempting to interfere with “consequences you have never seen”.
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