Kiyv, SAEDNEWS: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began Thursday morning with attacks by land, sea and air in what was immediately the largest military assault by one European state on another since World War Two. Russian forces may enter areas just outside Kyiv later on Friday even though Ukrainian units were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered, a top Ukrainian defence official said.
1- Russian missiles pounded Kyiv on Friday, families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend Ukraine's capital from an assault.
2- The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was captured by Russian forces on Thursday. Ukraine's nuclear agency and interior ministry said on Friday they were recording increased radiation levels from the site.
3- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted that there had been heavy fighting with people killed at the entrance to the eastern cities of Chernihiv and Melitopol.
4- A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers had been killed on Snake Island, a speck of land south of the port of Odessa. An audio clip surfaced that recorded the last exchange between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
5- Thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war with Russia started arriving in neighbouring central European countries on Thursday. In southern Poland, dozens arrived on foot and a line of cars waiting for passage grew longer during the course of the day.
Note: The Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014, but the region is not internationally recognised as part of Russia.
Source: Natural Earth; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); Worldpop.org; Ukrainian officials; Reuters
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