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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Friday of trying to destroy Ukraine’s statehood, warning that the “security” of its President Volodymyr Zelensky was at risk.
“This is total war. Putin has decided… to take Ukraine off the map of nations,” Le Drian told France Inter radio.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their “heroism” and assuring Kyiv is doing “everything possible” to protect them.
He spoke as Moscow’s forces reached the capital, with explosions heard in the city that the government described as “horrific rocket strikes.”
“They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in which they operate,” Zelensky said in a video.
“Ukrainian air defence systems are defending our skies,” he said. “Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism”
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Ukraine’s army said Friday it was fighting invading Russian forces northwest of the capital Kyiv, as Moscow pressed on with its advance on the pro-Western country for a second day.
“Airborne assault troops of the Ukrainian armed forces are fighting in the areas of the settlements of Dymer and Invankiv,” Kyiv’s army said on its Facebook page. Dymer is around 45 kilometres (28 miles) north of Kyiv, while Ivankiv is around 60 kilometres northwest of the Ukrainian capital.
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Refugees from Ukraine, including dozens of children, camp overnight at a train station in neighbouring Poland where reception centres are being hastily set up.
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Moscow’s defence ministry says its forces have “successfully completed” their objectives for the first day of the invasion, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.
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Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow will “sooner or later” have to talk with Kyiv to end their war, as Russian forces pressed on their invasion and attacked the capital.
“Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how to end the fighting and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the less losses there will be for Russia itself,” Zelensky said in a video address.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russians to protest against Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine as Moscow’s invading forces reached Kyiv, reports AFP.
“To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us. This means that you believe us. Fight for us. Fight against war,” Zelensky said, switching into Russian in a video address.
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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed the “horrific rocket strikes” that shook capital Kyiv in the early hours of Friday morning.
“Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany”.
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US President Joe Biden says he will consult India about Russia’s large-scale military attack on Ukraine, reports PTI. “We haven’t resolved that [talks] fully,” Biden adds.
The president was responding to questions from reporters on whether India was “fully on board” with the US against Russian action.
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Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine’s main cities for the second consecutive morning today.
Air Raid siren for second straight morning in Lviv, Ukraine pic.twitter.com/0rYqEponXV