.png)
But Ukrainian officials touted some success in defending Kyiv, and a senior U.S. defense official said Friday that the Russian military had lost momentum in its offensive, cautioning that could change in coming days. Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman said Russian forces have blocked Kyiv’s access from the west at Hostomel Airport — though Ukrainian officials said they continue to control the facility. Airspace over Ukraine remains contested, with no one in control, the Pentagon says.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 137 Ukrainians have been killed and 316 wounded after the first day of fighting, and he said Russians were targeting civilian areas, not just military sites. He addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin directly Friday, saying: “There are fights all over the country. Let’s sit down.”
More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in less than 48 hours, mostly to Poland and Moldova, according to the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi. The U.N.'s refugee agency had noted Thursday that as many as 100,000 Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes because of the broad attacks from Russia.
“Heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of countries keeping their borders open and welcoming refugees,” Grandi tweeted.
Here’s what to know
Chernobyl nuclear site readings are normal, International Atomic Energy Agency says
Return to menuRadiation levels at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant site in Ukraine remain in a safe range after Russian forces captured the facility Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
The IAEA said Friday that readings reported by the regulator at the old Soviet site have measured up to 9,46 microSieverts per hour — a level the agency characterized as “low” for the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Those readings “remain within the operational range measured in the Exclusion Zone since it was established, and therefore do not pose any danger to the public,” said the IAEA, which promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Ukraine previously warned that radiation levels near Chernobyl “exceeded” control levels, while Russia insisted that levels remained “normal.” The IAEA on Friday said Ukraine’s regulatory authority had since said the high readings may have been caused by military vehicles stirring up soil contaminated from the 1986 explosions.
Also, Ukrainian officials reported that their nuclear reactors were operating safely, the agency said Friday.
Airspace over Ukraine remains contested, with no one in control, Pentagon says
Return to menuThe Russian military has been unable to seize control of Ukrainian airspace, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday, something the United States had predicted would occur quickly in the event of a Russian invasion.
Russian and Ukrainian jets continue to fly over Ukraine, as Russians launch strikes on military targets. While Ukrainian air-defense capabilities, including surface-to-air missiles, have been degraded, they have not disappeared, the official said.
The assessment comes as Ukrainian officials claimed Friday that they have downed 10 Russian jets and seven helicopters since the invasion began. It was not clear whether those figures are accurate.
Angela Merkel: Ukraine invasion ‘marks a profound turning point in the history of Europe’
Return to menuFormer German chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday condemned the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “blatant breach of international law” with vast implications.
In a statement to the German news wire Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Merkel said “this war of aggression by Russia marks a profound turning point in the history of Europe after the end of the Cold War.”
She expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as support for her successor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Merkel was Germany’s chancellor for 16 years and a key negotiator in Europe’s relationship with Russia. She was in office when Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, and at that time said it was important to keep communications open with Moscow.
According to dpa, this time, she said, was different because this incursion attacked all of Ukraine.
More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since invasion began, U.N. commissioner says
Return to menuMore than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in less than 48 hours due to the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees.
U.N. Commissioner Filippo Grandi on Friday said that most of the tens of thousands of Ukrainians have fled to Poland and Moldova. Grandi emphasized on Twitter that “many more are moving towards its borders.”
The U.N.’s refugee agency had noted Thursday that as many as 100,000 Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes because of the broad attacks from Russia.
Videos and photos posted to social media show long lines of cars and families moving out of the cities, as well as many people, including children, walking toward the southern and western borders. Officials in Poland and Moldova have said this week they are preparing to take in Ukrainian refugees.
Grandi praised Moldovan President Maia Sandu and other governments for their support.
“Heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of countries keeping their borders open and welcoming refugees,” Grandi tweeted.
Human-rights watchdog Council of Europe suspends Russia’s representation rights
Return to menuThe Council of Europe, the continent’s main human rights watchdog, on Friday suspended Russia’s representation rights in the organization’s decision-making body and debate forum over its attack on Ukraine.
Russia remains a member of the council and a party to its conventions, including the European Convention on Human Rights, the council said in a statement. It said the suspension is temporary, “leaving channels of communication open.”
The Council of Europe was founded after World War II to uphold democracy in Europe and has 47 member nations.
Siobhán O'Grady: KYIV, Ukraine — As sirens blared in the streets of Kyiv, signaling that residents should head to underground bunkers, Washington Post journalists headed to their hotel’s basement where staff and their families were also sheltering. There, hotel workers served up heaping plates of spaghetti bolognese and Greek salad — a welcome surprise considering the restaurant is closed and supplies are dwindling.With a shortage of plates, some guests shared, and others took turns waiting for plates or silverware to be washed. One man handed out pieces of carpet for guests to put over the cold tile floor. The elderly and children have been given priority for seating. Afterward, a jovial hotel staffer walked around mopping up spilled sauce and lettuce.The shared sense of camaraderie in the basement bunker was a glimmer of light in an otherwise dark time.$4 million in cryptocurrency has been given to Ukrainian military since invasion, research shows
Return to menuMore than $4 million in cryptocurrency has been donated to the Ukrainian military since the start of the Russian invasion, according to new research.
Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, announced in a Friday blog post that $4.1 million in cryptocurrency such as bitcoin has been raised by volunteer groups and nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine in recent days in response to the Russian attacks.
An NGO reported it had received more than $3 million from a single donor as of early Friday, according to Elliptic.
The firm, which sells blockchain analytics tools to some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency platforms, has been tracking groups and governments that use cryptocurrencies as funding sources.
One of the groups involved in Elliptic’s tracking of cryptocurrency is Come Back Alive, which provides the military with training services, medical supplies and equipment. The Patreon platform announced Thursday that it has suspended a Come Back Alive page that was collecting donations to distribute body armor to Ukrainian soldiers.
As the military continues to receive millions of dollars in donations through cryptocurrency, more Ukrainians could turn to bitcoin and other crypto during the crisis.
“Cryptocurrency is particularly suited to international fundraising because it doesn’t respect national boundaries and it’s censorship-resistant — there is no central authority that can block transactions, for example in response to sanctions,” Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief scientist, told CNBC. “Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used to crowdfund war, with the tacit approval of governments.”
Russian offensive on Ukraine has lost momentum, Pentagon says
Return to menuThe Russian military has lost momentum in its offensive on Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday, cautioning that could change in coming days.
The assessment came amid signs that Russia has struggled to move on the capital, Kyiv, as outgunned Ukrainian forces dig in and put up a fight. Roughly one-third of the Russian forces committed to the assault now are in Ukraine, which would amount to more than 50,000, the official said.
“They have not achieved the progress that we believe they thought they would,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon.
The invasion continued with an amphibious landing of Russian naval forces west of the city of Mariupol and with Russia continuing to launch missiles into Ukraine. As of Friday morning in Washington, more than 200 missile strikes had occurred, the official said, up from 160 as of Thursday. Some of the missiles landed in residential areas.
Putin says Ukraine’s forces should ‘take power’ from Zelensky and ‘neo-Nazis’ in Kyiv
Return to menuRussian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukraine’s armed forces to “take power” from the democratically elected government of President Volodymyr Zelensky, underscoring Putin’s determination to drive the Ukrainian leader from office.
Addressing his hawkish Security Council by video link on Friday, Putin claimed “neo-Nazis” in Ukraine had placed heavy weapons in residential neighborhoods in cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, saying they were “acting like terrorists” and using women, children, wives and elderly people “as human shields.”
He said Russia’s main fight was not against the regular armed but what he called neo-Nazi gangs.
Putin also claimed without evidence that the United States was advising these forces to deploy heavy weapons in civilian areas.
His aggressive tone came just hours after the Kremlin said it would send a delegation to Minsk to negotiate Ukraine’s neutrality — while making it clear that nothing less than its capitulation would suffice.
Putin said if Ukrainian armed forces seized power, “it would be easier to come to terms with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have settled in Kyiv and taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage.”
Ukrainian officials tout what they say is success in repelling some Russian attacks on Kyiv
Return to menuUkrainian government officials on Friday trumpeted what they said were successes in repelling Russian military offensives, including in the capital, Kyiv, where officials said Russia has launched rocket attacks. City officials there reported that a rocket struck a residential building, causing a fire and injuring three people.
Ukraine’s army said air defenses have managed to repel some rocket attacks on the capital.
Ukrainian officials also said Friday that they continue to control the Hostomel airport, northwest of the capital. The airport could give Russia a crucial location for bringing troops and equipment into Kyiv.
U.S. officials have said in recent days that they believe Russian forces will move on Kyiv and could take control of the city within a few days after launching an attack. Multiple current and former U.S. officials said Putin’s ultimate goal apparently is to topple the Ukrainian government, either by capturing or killing Zelensky.
As of Friday, Zelensky was still in Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian official not authorized to speak publicly.
In heavy fighting across the country, Ukraine estimates that its forces have destroyed more than 30 Russian tanks, up to 130 armored combat vehicles, seven airplanes and six helicopters, according to official reports.
Russian forces continued bombing cities in eastern Ukraine, including Kropyvnytskyi, and the southern city of Vilkovo, Ukrainian officials reported.
Kyiv mayor says the city has entered a ‘phase of defense’
Return to menuKyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Friday said the capital has entered a “phase of defense” as Russian forces continue to attack the city.
Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing champion who became mayor in 2014, described the situation in Kyiv during an online briefing as “complicated and tense,” according to a news release from the Kyiv City Council. He told reporters that “shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighborhoods,” emphasizing that “saboteurs have already entered Kyiv.”
“The enemy wants to bring the capital to its knees and destroy us,” he said. “Everyone who can defend the city must join and help our soldiers.”
A Ukrainian official said that Kyiv was still under Ukrainian control, as of midafternoon Friday local time. Russian forces have blocked Kyiv’s access from the West with paratroopers and assault teams, according to a spokesman with Russia’s defense ministry.
Chico Harlan contributed to this report.
English (United States) · 
Turkish (Turkey) ·