Financial Associated Press (Shanghai, editor Xiaoxiang) news, as Russian soldiers, tanks and fighter groups approach Kiev from north, east and south, the Russian-Ukrainian war situation has now reached the most critical juncture.
Ukrainian armed forces reported in the morning beijing time that fierce fighting had taken place around vasylkiv, a city about 18 miles south of the country's capital Kiev, where Russian troops were trying to occupy the area and carry out airborne landings in the area.
In addition, CNN's reporting team in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, said there were huge explosions in the west and south of the city, and flashes of light appeared over the sky.
At the same time, Russian troops were advancing towards Kiev from the north and east in a pinch. Ukrainian troops blew up several bridges entering Kiev from the northwest in order to slow the advance of the Russian armored column entering the city from Belarus to the south. Ukrainian tanks and artillery were already in place to repel the ground attack. Kiev is well prepared for the possibility of facing street fighting.
According to kiev locals, Friday's bombing was much more intense than Thursday's airstrikes, and some of the shells hit residential areas.
The Washington Post quoted U.S. and Ukrainian officials as saying U.S. authorities were ready to help Ukrainian President Zelenskiy leave Kiev. But so far, Zelenskiy has refused to leave.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said in a televised speech late Friday local time that Russian troops were approaching the capital Kiev, advancing from the north and east to the capital. "Tonight will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all possible forces to crush the Ukrainian resistance. Many of our country's cities are at war: Chernihiv, Samui, Kharkiv, Donbass, many cities in southern Ukraine, and Kiev, the capital cannot be lost. ”
Thanks to the vast plains of Ukraine, grain-rich Ukraine became the "granary of Europe.". However, the flat terrain now makes Ukraine almost undefended by the Russians, and the Dnieper River flowing through Kiev does not provide much protection.
On the southern front, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian troops entered the city of Melitopol without resistance. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, "On the evening of February 25, a Russian force marched after landing near the town of Azovskoye and entered Melitopol without resistance. ”
The Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that the Russian military did not carry out missile attacks, shelling or air strikes on Ukrainian cities, but only paralyzed Ukraine's military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields and air forces with high-precision weapons, and Ukrainian civilians were not threatened.
In addition, the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense issued another notification on the evening of the 25th that the Russian side seized a large number of weapons shipped to Ukraine by Western countries in the past few months in special military operations, including the "Javelin" anti-tank missile system of the United States and the next generation of light anti-tank weapons (NLAW) provided by the United Kingdom.
Russia accuses Ukraine of negotiating or delaying the military The Ukrainian side denies it
While the war is in full swing, the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have so far lacked progress, but have fallen into a farce of mutual accusations of sincerity in negotiations.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has previously proposed negotiations with the Russian side. Russian presidential press secretary Peskov also said that Russia is willing to send a delegation to Minsk to negotiate with Ukraine. However, according to the Russian media quoted Peskov's statement, the Ukrainian side later said that it needed to reconsider negotiations with Russia in Minsk and choose to carry out negotiations in Warsaw instead, and then disappeared.
Peskov pointed out that while thinking about the gap between negotiations with Moscow, Peskov has deployed multiple rocket systems in residential areas, including Kiev.
In addition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova also said that the Ukrainian side is currently refusing to negotiate and offered to discuss the issue until February 26.
However, for the Russian accusations, Zelenskiy's press secretary Nikiforov denied it. He said Ukraine and Russia were holding consultations on the timing and location of the talks and that Ukraine was willing to "talk about a ceasefire and peace."
Ukraine's independent news agency quoted Nikiforov as saying: "I must refute the claim that we refuse to negotiate. Ukraine was and is willing to talk about ceasefire and peace. That is our consistent position. Just in recent hours, the two sides have been negotiating on a time and place for the talks. The earlier negotiations begin, the greater the chances of returning to normal life. ”
According to British media reports, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy is currently asking Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to act as a mediator for Ukraine's negotiations with Russia. Ukraine's ambassador to Israel Kornitsuk said, "Israel is the only Western democracy with good relations with both Russia and Ukraine that can be used to facilitate these negotiations." Jerusalem is preferable to Minsk, a previously proposed location, because The Belarus where Minsk is located is a close ally of Russia. ”
The United Nations estimates that 5 million Ukrainians will be displaced
U.N. aid agencies said on Friday that inadequate supplies of fuel, cash and medical supplies in parts of Ukraine following the outbreak of fighting between Russia and Ukraine could lead to the displacement of up to 5 million Ukrainians to flee abroad.
Shabia Mantoo, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, said at least 100,000 people in Ukraine had left their homes since Russia launched its attack on Thursday and thousands had crossed the border into neighbouring countries, including Moldova, Romania and Poland.
"In Poland, for example, we expect 1 million to 3 million people to flee to Poland, and 1 million to 5 million people to evacuate, including all neighbouring countries," UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan told a U.N. news conference in Geneva.
On Friday, as Russian troops approached Kiev, air raid sirens continued to "wail" over the city of 3 million people, and many Kiev residents had taken refuge in subway stations and bomb shelters. "As we said, there was a major attack in Kiev that caused great fear and panic among the population," Khan said at the briefing, "and we are still trying to understand which civilian infrastructure in Ukraine has been hit." ”
UNICEF's focus is on providing cash assistance to families, she said. She also noted that the impact of Western sanctions imposed on Russia will be analysed from the perspective of aid channels.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Human Rights Office, said there were at least 127 civilian casualties in Ukraine — 25 dead and 102 wounded — and that these casualties were "caused by shelling and airstrikes." She also noted that this figure may still be grossly underestimated.
Speaking via video in Kiev, WHO Representative in Ukraine Jarno Habicht said the group had not yet received reports from hospitals but was working to monitor casualties and needs. He said it was imperative to provide treatment for the wounded and to provide mental health and psychological support.