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But Ukrainian officials touted some success in defending Kyiv. A senior U.S. defense official said Friday that the Russian military has lost momentum in its offensive, while cautioning that this could change in the coming days. Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman said Russian forces have blocked Kyiv’s access from the west at Hostomel Airport — although Ukrainian officials said they continue to control the facility. Airspace over Ukraine remains contested, with no one in control, the Pentagon said.
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. refugee agency noted Thursday that Russia’s attacks have displaced as many as 100,000 Ukrainians from their homes.
“Heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of countries keeping their borders open and welcoming refugees,” Grandi tweeted.
Here’s what to know
Zelensky says in defiant video from Kyiv, ‘We are all here, we’re defending our independence’
Return to menuUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video Friday in which he said he was among those continuing to defend the capital of Kyiv from falling during the Russian invasion.
In a video published to his official Telegram account, Zelensky is shown standing in front of the presidential administration building in Kyiv with a group of Ukrainian government officials. It’s unclear whether the video was recorded Thursday or Friday.
“Good evening, everyone,” he said, before introducing the officials around him, which include Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. “The president is here. We’re all here. Our military is here. The citizens and the society are here. We are all here, we’re defending our independence, our state and we’ll keep on doing that.”
He added, “Glory to our men and women defenders. Glory to Ukraine!”
The men behind him said: “Glory to the heroes!”
Zelensky in a video message from #Kyiv:
"We are here. We are in Kyiv. We are defending Ukraine”pic.twitter.com/OgMgmPAmvz
U.S. officials have said recently that they think 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 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal apparently is to topple the Ukrainian government by capturing or killing Zelensky.
As of Friday, Zelensky was still in Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian official not authorized to speak publicly.
Michael Birnbaum and Shane Harris contributed to this report.
Russia moves to ‘partially’ restrict access to Facebook
Return to menuRussia on Friday announced a “partial restriction” of access to Facebook after reporting the social media network had taken action against the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media outlets over their coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Internet regulator Roskomnadzor demanded that Facebook lift the blocks placed Thursday on several outlets, including state news agency RIA Novosti and state TV network Zvezda, affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.
Roskomnadzor explained its move as “measures to protect the Russian media,” and along with the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office, accused Facebook of “violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian nationals.”
The “partial restriction” of Facebook takes immediate effect. However, the regulator did not provide details on what the measures would include.
Zvezda said Facebook imposed restrictions on its page after the posting of two news stories, “Russian Defense Ministry: Air Defense Forces of Ukraine Suppressed” and “The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military border services of Ukraine are not resisting.” The network said the restrictions relate to how Zvezda stories appeared, lower in the Facebook feeds so that fewer users can see them.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last year Roskomnadzor slowed down the speed of Twitter, accusing the U.S. social media company of failing to remove what it considered banned content, leading to issues with accessing video and photos posted on the network.
Facebook, Twitter and other Western social media platforms are widely used by the Kremlin’s opponents, including Alexei Navalny, who has been jailed since January of last year upon returning to Russia after treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia.
For several years, Russia and its Internet regulator tried to pressure foreign tech firms to comply with its increasingly strict rules on what it deems illegal content — particularly apps, websites, posts and videos related to demonstrations organized by Navalny or his network, which has been labeled as extremist in the country.
Google was fined nearly $100 million for these violations in December, the largest such penalty yet in the country.
Earlier this week, Roskomnadzor threatened media with hefty fines if they do not stick to “official Russian sources” in their coverage of the attack on Ukraine. Independent Russian outlets described it as an ominous move that could see their Web resources blocked in Russia, along with social networks.
Map: Ukrainian capital a primary target of Russian attacks
Return to menuThe Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was jolted by predawn explosions Friday as part of a full-scale Russian attack that Western officials say is aimed at toppling Ukraine’s government. At midmorning local time, large booms rattled the eastern city of Kharkiv.
The Russian offensive has been geographically widespread, hitting Ukraine from the eastern city of Luhansk to just outside the western city of Lviv, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
This post will update.
Eurovision Song Contest bans any Russian act from performing
Return to menuThe European Broadcasting Union announced Friday that no Russian act will be allowed to appear in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest because of the invasion of Ukraine.
The EBU’s executive board made the decision after a recommendation from the Reference Group, the governing body of the Eurovision Song Contest, the agency said in a news release. The decision to ban Russian acts from appearing in this year’s competition was “based on the rules of the event and the values” of the agency, the EBU wrote.
“The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” the agency wrote.
The Eurovision Song Contest, the self-described “world’s biggest live music event,” is a cultural phenomenon. The competition said 183 million viewers tuned in to watch the return of the show last May.
It isn’t the first time that Russian aggression toward Ukraine has affected the show. After Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Eurovision Song Contest organizers installed anti-booing technology to drown out boos from the audiences anytime a Russian act performed.
Chernobyl nuclear site readings are normal, 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.
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