The second day of fighting in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has cost dozens of lives, with President Vladimir Putin forcing the Ukrainian army to remove the country’s leadership. A Ukrainian presidential adviser claimed Kyiv is open to negotiations with Moscow.
An advance squad of Russia’s invading army left a trail of damage in the city’s northern district of Obolonskyi with small weapons fire and explosives. According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, who spoke to Reuters on Friday, Ukraine wants peace and will engage with Russia on NATO neutrality. He said that “I believe that if conversations can be held, then they should. As long as Moscow says it wants to have negotiations, including on neutral status, we are not frightened of it,” he added in a text message. “Our willingness to engage in discussion is part of our ongoing commitment to peace.”
In the UN, the United States and Albania pushed a UN Security Council resolution asking the international body to pressure Russia to “immediately halt its use of force” against Ukraine. A previous version of this document, advertised in the media, requested the Security Council’s approval for using force to compel Russia to leave Ukraine.
According to diplomatic sources, the resolution was diluted to win over council approval. The resolution has the approval of at least 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council. The United States might introduce another resolution, possibly including a call for the use of force at some point tonight or early on Saturday, according to these same sources.
In the earlier version of the resolution, NATO was authorised to use force against the Russian invasion of Ukraine by invoking UNSC “Chapter 7” (Action regarding threats to peace, breaches of peace, and acts of aggression).
Russia, the UNSC President this month and a permanent member, will reject the resolution, which was scheduled to be put to a vote overnight after being postponed. On Friday evening, the United States will present the resolution to the UN General Assembly, where no member can reject it. In Washington, Republican and Democrat members of Congress are pressing the administration to join with the international community to remove Russia from the UN Security Council in order to neutralise its veto capabilities. Diplomats in Washington see this as a symbolic gesture to show support for the Biden administration’s stance on immigration reform.
There is no practical way to remove Russia since doing so would undermine the entire UN structure, according to one observer.
According to AFP, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated earlier that Moscow was willing to discuss, but only if Ukraine’s military forces “laid down their armaments,” reiterating that “nobody wishes to conquer Ukraine.”
According to Russia, the Western military alliance must reduce its presence in Eastern Europe and abandon its aspirations of Ukraine joining Nato.
To join the European Union and NATO, Ukraine, handed up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from European nations, plans. This is the first time that Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has invoked Nazism and called for Europeans with “war experience” to take guns and protect Ukraine. Kyiv was rocked by a series of early morning explosions on the second day of war.
US Vice President Joe Biden participated in an unusual virtual conference with Nato leaders on Friday to examine the security situation in and around Ukraine, after his announcement of export bans and penalties targeting Russian elites. National Security and Defence Council (Nato) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg remarked after the conference that “the Ukrainian troops are fighting heroically and can inflict harm on the Russian military.”
He stated Nato has over 100 planes and over 120 ships on standby. On the ground, at sea, and in the air: “We are deploying NATO Response Force components so that we may further enhance our position and respond promptly to any eventuality.”
Zelensky then made a video of himself on a Kyiv street and shared it on social media, pledging to stay and protect the city.
All of us are in the same place. He added, “We’re all here protecting our freedom, our nation, and it will continue to be this way.” After President Zelensky stated his nation had been ‘left alone,’ a video of the incident surfaced. “The last time I looked around, there was nobody there,” he had declared.
It is a crucial moment to close the long-standing discussion once and for all and decide on Ukraine's membership in the #EU. Discussed with @eucopresident further effective assistance and the heroic struggle of Ukrainians for their free future.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 26, 2022
On Thursday, Russian helicopters attacked an airstrip in Obolonskyi, just outside of Kyiv, bringing Russian soldiers to the city’s boundaries for the first time. The Ukrainian defence ministry urged civilians to fight with the government. “We encourage locals to tell us of troop movements, to construct Molotov cocktails, and neutralise the enemy,” it stated.
Since Russia launched its air and ground attack, Ukraine says 137 people, including military and civilians, have been killed.
Taking Cover in the Subway
An official in the village of Starognativka, which is on the frontline between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces, said that missiles had targeted the settlement. This community is under attack, and they’re attempting to get rid of it, he said.
This photo taken of a man sheltering in the subway holding his most precious companion made me cry. The humanity of his priority, and the unknown, fear, and heartbreak represented at this exact moment should cause all to stand & take notice. This could be any of us. #Ukraine 🇺🇦💪 pic.twitter.com/clW9QfGjFp
— The Davemeister™ (@Dave_in_PDX) February 26, 2022
Many people left their houses in Kyiv and sought refuge in the subway system.
According to the UN’s refugee agency, at least 100,000 Ukrainians have been displaced, with tens of thousands more fleeing across the border.
Outside Przemysl, Poland, hundreds of people camped overnight in a train station as individuals from Hungary, Poland, and Romania crossed the border in automobiles and on foot.
Considering Russian claims to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military sites, including 11 airfields, Western intelligence agencies acknowledged Moscow had established “full air supremacy” over the country as well.
Burma and Syria
Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, declared that Russia’s invasion was a “correction of history,” while the Myanmar government said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “legitimate.”
In a pre-dawn declaration on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was launching an invasion of eastern Ukraine to protect the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics.
Following Putin’s recognition of their independence on Monday, the leaders of the two regions requested military help from Moscow against Kyiv.
In the past, Russia has regularly accused Ukraine’s Western-backed government of discriminating against the Russian-speaking community in the nation’s east. Since 2014, over 14,000 people have been killed in a battle between separatists and government troops.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ [email protected]
