Get the latest updates, analysis and footage coming out of the Ukraine crisis as it happens. Live on News24 now.
Two loud blasts were heard in central Kyiv early Friday, an AFP journalist said, as Russian troops push closer to the Ukrainian capital in an invasion of its Western-backed neighbour.
Russian missiles and shelling rained down on Ukrainian cities on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault, forcing civilians to shelter on metro systems. Herashchenko wrote on Telegram that a nine-storey residential building was on fire. A series of explosions were heard in Kyiv earlier which Herashchenko said were the sounds of air defences firing at the aircraft. .The United States and Britain on Thursday unveiled more sanctions on Russia after its forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in a massed assault by land, sea and air, while the European Union convened an emergency summit to discuss new restrictions.
Washington announced additional restrictions on dealings in Russia sovereign debt on Tuesday. Americans, who were already barred from investing in Russian sovereign debt directly, will be banned from purchasing it in the secondary market after March 1. On Thursday, the US Treasury expanded Russia-related debt and equity restrictions to 13 Russian entities, including state owned enterprises and other financial firms.
Meanwhile, Britain has imposed sanctions on three men, Gennady Timchenko and billionaires Igor and Boris Rotenberg. The three are allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin whose personal fortunes grew following Putin’s rise to the presidency. All three are already sanctioned by the United States. Biden again said on Thursday he would consider personal sanctions on Putin, a move Moscow has said would not harm him personally but would prove"politically destructive".The United States and the EU already have sanctions in place on Russia's energy and defence sectors, with Gazprom among others facing various curbs on exports/imports and debt-raising.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday said it was implementing export controls that will severely restrict Russia’s access to semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors that it needs to sustain its military capabilities. Twitter Inc posted tips on how users can secure their accounts against hacking, make sure their tweets are private and deactivate their accounts. The company tweeted the safety tips in English, Russian and Ukrainian.
On video app TikTok, the hashtags"Russia" and"Ukraine" had 37.2 billion and 8.5 billion views, respectively.The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a draft resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanding a withdrawal of its troops, a text doomed to fail due to Moscow's veto, diplomatic sources said.
The text, if adopted, would also require Russia to"immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine" and"immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders."Two explosions were heard in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said his aim was to demilitarize and"denazify" Ukraine. He said any hindrance would be met by"such consequences that you have never encountered in your history".
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