Ukraine army repels Russian attack on capital as Australia, US announce sanctions
Ukrainians are being warned of brutal street fighting as more satellite images revealed what could be Russia’s next target. Warning: GRAPHIC
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The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has warned civilians in the capital Kyiv that fighting is taking place on the streets.
In a Facebook post Saturday, the ministry said: “Active fighting is taking place on the streets of our city. Please stay calm and be as careful as possible! If you’re in the shelter, don’t leave it now. If you are at home — do not go close to the windows, do not go to the balconies. Hide indoors, for example in the bathroom, and cover yourself with something that will prevent injury from bullet fragments. “If you hear sirens (“Air Alarm” signal) -- go immediately to the nearest shelter!”
Ukrainian officials say cruise missiles have been launched from the Black Sea and areas near Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol have been hit by airstrikes, Reuters reports.
The alert comes as Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn.
US President Joe Biden has also instructed the US State Department to release $350m in military aid to Ukraine.
Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov told Ukrainian news site Lb.ua that the army was “in control” of the situation.
“We are stopping the horde using all means available. The army servicemen and citizens are in control of Kyiv,” he said.
The Military Law Enforcement Service of Ukraine said that country’s the military “destroyed a column of equipment of the occupiers” in the Beresteiska district in Kyiv.
“According to preliminary information, it is about 2 cars, 2 trucks with ammunition, and also with the help of NLAW anti-tank missiles an enemy tank was destroyed,” the service said.
Ukraine’s military also said it shot down a Russian military transport plane with paratroopers on board.
A statement from the military’s General Staff, the Il-76 heavy transport plane was shot down near Vasylkiv, a city 40 kilometres south of Kyiv.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a new Cold War in Europe.
Western nations announced personal sanctions targeting Putin as his soldiers were advancing into Ukraine Friday, with Zelensky urging the nation to defend itself.
“This night will be more difficult than the day. Many cities of our state are under attack,” Zelensky had said.
“Special attention on Kyiv -- we cannot lose the capital,” he said in an earlier address.
“I am turning to our defenders, male and female, on all fronts: this night the enemy will use all the forces it has to crush our defence in a treacherous, harsh and inhumane way,” he said.
“Tonight they will attempt a storming” of the capital, he added in an apparent reference to Kyiv.
Zelensky, who earlier called for a stronger response from the West, said he spoke to leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden.
“We have agreed on more aid, more support, significant support for our state,” he said.
Explosions and gunfire flooded the city as it faced a barrage of missile attacks, with terrified residents seeking shelter and desperately trying to protect their homes.
Russian forces “continue to advance on two axis towards Kyiv”, according to UK intelligence reports, per CNN.
It stated: “Their objective is to encircle the capital, to secure control of the population and change the regime”.
Zelensky, who had earlier called for a stronger response from the West, said he spoke leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden.
“We have agreed on more aid, more support, significant support for our state,” he said.
BELARUS AT RISK OF BEING NEXT TARGET
As Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine, concerns are growing that neighbouring Belarus is also at risk of gradually losing its sovereignty without being the direct target of a military operation by Moscow.
Autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko, in power for almost three decades, allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine from the north.
Russia had grouped some 30,000 troops in Belarus ostensibly for exercises in the last weeks. They had been due to leave earlier this month but their presence was then extended indefinitely.
Furthermore, Belarus will on Sunday hold a referendum, denounced as illegitimate by the opposition and seen as a bid for Lukashenko to further extend his stay in power and arrange an eventual transition.
The amendments proposed by the regime include a change to the post-Soviet status of neutrality of Belarus which would allow the country to host Russian nuclear weapons and Russian forces on a permanent basis.
It comes as new satellite images reveal helicopters and vehicles at Bolshoy Bokov airfield, near Mazyr, Belarus.
The images showed one large helicopter deployment near the Belarusian town of Chojniki, which had over 90 helicopters parked on a road with the deployment extending for more than five miles. Images also showed a large deployment of ground forces with several hundred vehicles in convoy position in several fields.
RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA BANNED BY FACEBOOK
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is cutting Russian state media off from running ads or monetising on its platform anywhere in the world.
“We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media,” its security policy head, Nathaniel Gleicher, said.
“These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend.”
‘POINT OF NO RETURN’: MORE SANCTIONS
The United States, Canada, Britain and the European Union announced further sanctions against Russia on Friday, including against Putin himself and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia said the sanctions against the pair were “a demonstration of the complete impotence of the foreign policy” of the West.
“We have reached the line after which the point of no return begins,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Moscow also vetoed — as expected — a UN Security Council resolution that deplored “in the strongest terms” Russia’s invasion, while China, Indian and the United Arab Emirates abstained.
Putin had earlier described the Ukrainian government as “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.
“Take power in your own hands,” he told the Ukrainian military in a televised address, urging it to topple Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader responded early Friday by posting a self-shot video on social media of himself on a Kyiv street, vowing to stay and defend the capital.
“We’re all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We’re all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way,” Zelensky said.
The US-led military alliance NATO said the Ukrainians were putting up a stiff resistance to the Russian threat.
“The Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on the invading Russian forces,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said after the alliance held an emergency summit on Friday.
NATO said it was deploying its rapid response forces for the first time ever to bolster defences on the alliance’s eastern flank.
AUSTRALIA’S SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA
Australia has announced additional financial sanctions on Russian oligarchs and 339 members of parliament, as troops continue to invade Ukraine as Foreign Minister Marise Payne labelled the invasion as “unprovoked, unacceptable and unjustified”.
The invasion was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow launching a brutal three-pronged assault on its neighbour, attacking by land, sea and air.
Russian troops are now attempting to take over the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with the city facing a barrage of missile attacks overnight as residents are being forced to seek shelter from the violence.
Australia initially introduced sanctions, including travel bans, on Russian individuals on Wednesday.
Ms Payne revealed further co-ordinated sanctions will be imposed to “inflict a cost on those who bear responsibility or who hold levers of power”.
Acting Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham signed the “necessary instruments” to put financial sanctions on eight Russian oligarchs who are close to President Putin, Ms Payne said at a press conference.
The oligarchs are people of key economic and strategic significance, high figures in state banks and companies who are “very close to the president” and have “amassed great wealth through their positions of power”.
There are now also sanctions on 339 members of the Russian Duma, who are the political facilitators of the action.
“We will today take steps to sanction key figures in the Belarusian government who are allied with Russia and who are abetting the invasion,” Ms Payne said.
Senator Payne said Australia will continue to introduce sanctions on Mr Putin’s “inner circle” and the defence industry in Russia, after the UK, EU and Canada announced they will be sanctioning the President himself, as well as Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
She hopes Australia will be able to take similar steps and is taking advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on exactly how to do it.
“It is an exceptional step to sanction leaders but this is an exceptional situation,” she said.
“Vladimir Putin has unparalleled personal power over his country and he has chosen to go to war against a neighbour that posed no threat to Russia, because he wants to reverse history and take away the freedom and the democracy that the Ukrainian people chose for themselves.”
“He will be personally responsible for the deaths and the suffering of innocent Ukrainians.”
US RESPONDS
The United States said it would impose sanctions on Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, following similar announcements by Britain and the European Union in the wake of Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that a travel ban would be part of the sanctions.
Following the spate of measures, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Russian television that “we have reached the line after which the point of no return begins”.
The EU’s sanctions package – the second adopted this week as Russia’s military build-up moved into a full-on assault – was approved by leaders in an overnight summit.
It hammers Russia’s financial, energy and transport sectors, and curbs the ability of Russians to keep large amounts of cash in EU banks.
It also expands the number of Russians on the EU’s list of sanctioned individuals barred from entry and whose EU assets are blocked.
Following suit, Britain’s Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against Putin and Lavrov, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen.
In addition to the sanctions, Psaki said that any moves by Russia “going after” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who alongside key aides has vowed to stay and defend Kyiv, would be a “horrific act”.
Putin has called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the government whose leaders he describes as “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”
Putin and Lavrov join a list of figures sanctioned by the United States which includes Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
‘POWER IN YOUR OWN HANDS’
Vladimir Putin made a public appeal to the defenders of Ukraine to lay down their arms and overthrow their government so negotiations for peace could begin.
The Russian president’s televised address came as his “brave, heroic” forces were mired in a brutal street fight for control of Kyiv. The rest of his war machine, meanwhile, was making “slower than expected” progress, according to US and UK defence officials.
“Take power in your own hands,” Putin said. “It’s easier for us to come to an agreement with you than with a band of drug addicted and neo-Nazis.”
A US defence official noted that the Ukrainian command and control is “intact” along with its air and missile defence capability, leaving Russia “behind on Day 1 targets”.
“The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum,” the official said, according to Fox News.
“No population centres have been taken. Russia has yet to achieve air superiority.”
“In general we assess the Russian forces are encountering greater resistance than they expected,” the official added.
NATO Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine troops were fighting bravely and were
“able to inflict casualties against Russian forces.”
Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Russian lost 2,800 service members, 80 tanks, 516 armoured combat vehicles, 10 aircraft and seven helicopters since the start of the invasion.
“We are strong!” she wrote on Facebook. “Victory will be ours!”
UKRAINIANS URGED TO TAKE UP ARMS
Defiant Ukrainians have vowed to fight Vladimir Putin’s soldiers calling for recruits of any age, as Russian tanks reached Kyiv last night.
The dictator’s merciless march on the capital was delayed when Ukraine’s national guard recaptured its airport from elite Russian troops.
But videos showed Russian tanks in Obolon, in the north of Kyiv late on Friday night
Australian time, as the sounds of bombs were heard across the city, amid some of the worst fighting in Europe since World War Two.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry confirmed Russian soldiers had reached Kyiv, saying they were in Obolon.
They pleaded with locals to take images of the invading forces on their phones and to attack them.
“We ask citizens to inform about the movement of equipment. Make molotov cocktails, neutralise the occupier,” a tweet from Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said.
Those not wanting to fight were warned to stay inside their house.
British intelligence sources last night claimed that at least 450 Russian troops were killed in a brave Ukrainian resistance on the first day of fighting.
At least 100,000 civilians have fled Ukraine, with freeways lined with cars and trains full. Of the 44 million who remain, many were hiding in bomb shelters in underground trains as air raid sirens rang out across the Kyiv, as well as Lviv on the country’s western border.
Makeshift intensive care units for tiny babies were set up in bomb shelters as hospitals were evacuated.
More than 160 bombs have been dropped on Ukraine – more were expected last night – with Mr Zelenskyy calling for Putin to hold talks about a cease fire.
Kyiv was likely to be under siege within days, with secret Russian assassins already in the city hunting President Volodymyr Zelensky in a bid to force a change in government.
A desperate Ukrainian army sent out a message from Commander of Troops Yuri Galushkin:
“Today, Ukraine needs everything. All procedures for joining are simplified.
“Bring only your passport and identification number. There are no age restrictions.”
Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace claimed Putin wanted to invade the entire country, but said he had underestimated the Ukrainian forces.
“They’ve lost over 450 personnel, a significant number of tanks and armoured vehicles, three fighter jets at least, and a number of helicopters,” Mr Wallace said.
“Russia with its Spetsnaz – it’s so-called elite – hasn’t even been able to take an airport.”
Blocks of flats burnt in Kyiv, home to 2.9 million people, after heavy shells rained on the city.
There were fears Kyiv could fall within four days, and the government within a week.
Mr Zelenskyy banned all men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country, while others were voluntarily returning from neighbouring Poland to take up arms.
“According to the available intelligence, the enemy marked me as a target No. 1 and my family as the target No. 2,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of the state. We will win over anyone because we are Ukraine.”
Mr Zelenskyy hit the phones last night, pleading with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for tougher sanctions and immediate support.
Germany was sending “Patriot” anti-aircraft missile systems to the region, Der Spiegel reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a dire warning that Putin had goals beyond Ukraine and may have other countries in his sights.
“You don’t need intelligence to tell you that,” Mr Blinken said, adding Putin wanted to bring back the USSR.
“He’s made clear that he’d like to reconstitute the Soviet empire,” Mr Blinken said. “Short of that, he’d like to reassert a sphere of influence around neighbouring countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc. And short of that, he’d like to make sure that all of these countries are somehow neutral.”
Russian troops captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst radioactive disaster in 1986, and held staff hostage.
Sales of AR-10 and AR-15 rifles have skyrocketed in Ukraine as locals arm themselves, while 10,000 civilians have been given weapons.
Elderly women have been among those being trained how to shoot, while at least 400,000 Ukrainians have combat experience.
“If I was younger I would take a machine gun and go to the front line. I’m ready to protect Ukraine,” an elderly woman told SBS in Lviv.
Ukraine voted for independence from Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 after seven decades of Russian rule.
Now it is refusing to be behind a new iron curtain without a fight.
An unarmed Ukrainian woman was filmed telling an invading Russian soldier: “You’re occupants, you’re fascists! What the f--- are you doing on our land with all these guns?”
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klychko said he was prepared to take up arms in a bloody street battle for Ukraine’s capital.
“I don’t have a choice, I have to do that, I will be fighting,” he told Good Morning Britain.
A photograph of three national guardsmen was released after the airport was recaptured.
“Guardsmen with their flag, torn to pieces after today’s battle,” the Ukrainian military said. “Congratulations to all of you and say that we will win!”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister warned of an “ecological disaster” if Russian troops continued to hold Chernobyl.
Russia was invading Ukraine on three fronts – attacks on Kyiv from Belarus, to the city’s north, on Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine, and in Kherson in the south from the already annexed Crimea.
Fierce battles played out in Sumy, a town on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia. Buildings were on fire, and machine guns and heavy artillery could be heard in fiery footage taken by Nexta, an Eastern European television station.
“I never, never, never believed it would happen,” a hotel worker told The Times of London. “Is this 2022 or 50 years ago? It is like a war out of the history books.”
Putin, a former KGB spy, remains intent on taking Ukraine but it may come at considerable cost, with protesters on the streets of Moscow.
A long conflict and the effect of harsh financial sanctions may increase pressure on Putin in Russia.
British planes were banned from landing in Russia, as Putin reacted to British sanctions on the country’s billionaires and its banks.
stephen.drill@news.com.au
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