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As Russia’s assault on Ukraine reached into its second largest city, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was putting nuclear forces on high alert, the EU announced unprecedented new actions against Moscow.
Putin’s order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represent an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon.
Ukrainian forces fought Friday to hold back a Russian advance on the capital, Kyiv, amid warnings the city could fall within hours or days and as officials handed out weapons to reservists.
Russia’s military claimed Friday afternoon that its forces had staged a “successful landing operation” to capture Hostomel airfield on Kyiv’s outskirts, viewed as strategically important.
Russia has launched a major invasion of Ukraine from three main directions.
Reports say troops are advancing from the north in the direction of Kyiv; from the east through Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv; and from Crimea in the south.
In less than 24 hours, dozens of targets have been struck, as Russian troops have poured into Ukraine.
Russian forces are making advances on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and Moscow has continued to flow forces into the country, a senior US defence official said on Thursday.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that so far Russia had fired more than 160 missiles at Ukrainian targets.
Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.
Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.