Russia attacks Ukraine: Latest updates from on the ground
Jimie2022. 3. 2. 06:31
LIVE: Latest updates from on the ground
BBC News
Updates from BBC correspondents in Ukraine and the region: Orla Guerin, Lyse Doucet and James Waterhouse in Kyiv, Sarah Rainsford in Dnipro, Fergal Keane in Lviv, Steve Rosenberg in Moscow and teams on Ukraine's western border
Summary
Five people have died after Russia attacked a TV tower in Kyiv, hitting nearby broadcast facilities, Ukrainian officials say
It comes after Russia warned residents that it was preparing to hit targets in the Ukrainian capital
It said it was planning attacks on Kyiv technology centres, urging people to stay away
A huge convoy of Russian armoured vehicles continues to advance on the city
Freedom Square in central Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, has been hit by a strike, killing at least 10 civilians
In its latest assessment, the Pentagon says Russian troops have not taken Kharkiv or Mariupol, but they have occupied nearby towns
UK PM Boris Johnson accuses Russia of "barbaric and indiscriminate" attacks
Deadly blast at TV tower in Kyiv as Russia warns of fresh strikes on Ukraine's capital | ITV News
Five people were killed when a television tower in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after it was struck by Russian bombing, Ukraine’s parliament said.
Videos on social media show a loud explosion followed by billowing clouds of smoke pouring from the tower.
There were several explosions and Ukrainian TV channels stopped broadcasting shortly afterward, local media reported.
The Russian attack on Ukraine has intensified in the past 24-hours with Vladimir Putin's forces stepping up their efforts to seize the capital as Moscow's defence minister urged people to leave their homes.
Deadly blast at Kyiv TV tower after Russia warns capital
Posted at 8:448:44
Zelensky: I'm not iconic, Ukraine is iconic
Speaking to reporters from Reuters and CNN earlier, Ukrainian President Zelensky reflected on the image that has emerged of him over the course of the last few days.
Today's crisis is "very serious, it’s not a movie," the actor turned commander-in-chief told CNN, adding: "I’m not iconic, I think Ukraine is iconic.”
Before assuming office, Zelensky had been a comedic actor and was the Ukrainian-dubbed voice for Paddington Bear in a film. He also had a law degree and won office in 2019 on a promise to crack down on corruption.
“Ukraine is the heart of Europe, and now I think Europe sees Ukraine is something special for this world,” he said. “That’s why [the] world can’t lose this something special.”
Posted at 9:159:15
Biden, Zelensky discuss 'Russian aggression'
Earlier, US President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone about the Russian invasion.
The two leaders discussed sanctions against Russia, and military assistance to Ukraine,Zelensky said in a tweet.
The US president tweeted about the call ahead of his first State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington. We'll bring you details of that speech later.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the sanctions were being launched against individuals and organisations because of the role the country is playing in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Quote Message: The Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin." from Liz Truss
The Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin."
Liz Truss
8:44
Zelensky: I'm not iconic, Ukraine is iconic
Speaking to reporters from Reuters and CNN earlier, Ukrainian President Zelensky reflected on the image that has emerged of him over the course of the last few days.
Today's crisis is "very serious, it’s not a movie," the actor turned commander-in-chief told CNN, adding: "I’m not iconic, I think Ukraine is iconic.”
Before assuming office, Zelensky had been a comedic actor and was the Ukrainian-dubbed voice for Paddington Bear in a film. He also had a law degree and won office in 2019 on a promise to crack down on corruption.
“Ukraine is the heart of Europe, and now I think Europe sees Ukraine is something special for this world,” he said. “That’s why [the] world can’t lose this something special.”
Posted at 8:168:16
'I won't put my family in danger' - father flees Kharkiv
Daniel, a father-of-three living in Kharkiv, tells the BBC he's had no choice but to leave the city he loves because he won't put his family in danger.
He's now travelling towards Moldova or Poland with his wife and children, aged eight, four and 18 months - while his mother and mother-in-law are staying behind in Kharkiv.
"I love my country, I love my city," Daniel says. "It is a very beautiful city. But now it's been demolished." At the moment he doesn't know when he will return.
His eight-year-old daughter gave a message via her father, saying: "She wants everyone to live in peace and stop the war - because war ruins harmony."
Posted at 8:008:00
Watch: Footage shows deadly strike on Kyiv TV tower
Five people have died after Russian forces hit a TV tower in Kyiv on Tuesday, officials say.
The attack took some broadcasts off air, and damaged a nearby memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
Footage shows a large blast and smoke billowing from the tower.
Earlier Ukraine's defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, warned that Russia was planning to disrupt communications and spread fake information about a Ukrainian capitulation.
Posted at 7:237:23
Zelensky and Biden speak on phone
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has had a 30-minute phone conversation with US President Joe Biden today.
Zelenskywrote on Twitterthat they discussed anti-Russian sanctions and defence support for Ukraine.
"We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible," he said.
7:17
'Now I believe not in God but Ukrainian forces'
As Russian forces push forward to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, we've been hearing from Hanna who lives in the Solomianskyi district near the airport and some military bases.
She has made a bed in a corridor of her flat where she hopes the walls would protect her from shooting or rocket explosions.
"I have electricity here. I put in a table lamp. I have here this suitcase with clothes and all necessary things in case I have to leave," she says.
Hanna took her dog for a walk on Monday night but heard explosions and received a message from the Kyiv administration saying there was a danger of rockets, so she ran home.
"We are scared but honestly I think a lot of people in Kyiv, and all over Ukraine, we’ve started to get used to this.
"A lot of regions around Kyiv are ruined so that is why I’m really afraid about getting food and other products into the city."
She says she is "really afraid" of the large column of Russian military headed towards the capital.
"But Ukrainian armed forces gave me a chance to sleep these two days. Now I believe not in God, I believe in the Ukrainian armed forces," she says.
Posted at 6:486:48
UN diplomats walk out during Lavrov's speech
Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has been treated to a diplomatic boycott at the United Nations in Geneva.
Lavrov, who was addressing both the UN human rights council and the UN conference on disarmament, was greeted with a walkout by Western ambassadors when he began to speak.
He was apparently looking forward to striding the diplomatic stage again in Geneva - Europe's closed airspace put a stop to that.
Instead, when his speech via video link began to play, Western ambassadors walked out - Mr Lavrov spoke to their retreating backs.
Russia's foreign minister then went, virtually, to the UN human rights council. There too the chamber emptied.
The irony: much of Mr Lavrov’s speech was actually about security – or Russia's concept of it.
Amid unfounded allegations that Ukraine might try to acquire nuclear weapons, he said it was time for US missiles in Europe to go home.
Posted at 6:306:30
'History repeats' with missile on Holocaust site - Zelensky
Ukraine's president has aired his frustration on Twitter over the missile strike on the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre in Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Tuesday, saying: "What is the point of saying 'never again' for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least five killed. History repeating."
Posted at 6:086:08
'I'm in a bomb shelter in Kharkiv with my family'
BBC Newshour
BBC World Service
A resident of Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv tells the BBC she's hiding out in a bomb shelter with her family, for fear of not knowing where Russian shelling will strike next.
"I'm here with my two children, my husband and other people who live in our [home]", she says, explaining that she occasionally surfaces from the shelter in the city centre to go back to their flat.
She says Ukraine's president is right to call Russia's actions in Ukraine a war crime, adding "it's in all parts of the city".
Posted at 5:585:58
Russia 'barbaric' for attacking TV tower near Holocaust memorial - Ukraine
Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russia was barbaric for attacking a TV tower near a memorial site that commemorates the victims of Babyn Yar.
Babyn Yar was one of the biggest single massacres of Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.
The site contains a a cluster of memorials to remember those who died, including a separate one for the children.
On Twitter, the foreign ministry said "Russian troops fired on the TV tower, near the Memorial complex #BabynYar".
It added: "Russian criminals do not stop at anything in their barbarism. Russia = barbarian."
MFA of Ukraine ??@MFA_UkraineRussian troops fired on the TV tower, near the Memorial complex #BabynYar.
Russian criminals do not stop at anything in their barbarism. Russia = barbarian.
Russian forces have attacked a television tower in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, potentially disrupting its signal, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko has said.
