Russian troops at the gates of Kiev, dozens of dead. Putin: "Done what was necessary"
Already occupied an airport. NATO and the EU: "Very harsh sanctions". All updates live
(Handle)
Russia invaded Ukraine. Vladimir Putin at 4 Italian hours (6 in Moscow) made his declaration of war ( HERE the declaration and the reactions of the West).
The live coverage of the crisis, all the updates in real time ( HERE instead the other news on the conflict).
7.45 pm - Biden: "War that has been premeditated for months" - "It is a war that has been premeditated for months and Putin will pay the consequences", he will become a "pariah on the international scene". US President Joe Biden said this when speaking to the nation from the White House. New sanctions and a ban on technological exports announced, four other Russian state banks on the blacklist. "The United States will release additional strategic oil reserves if needed," he added: "I have no plans to talk to Putin."
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7 pm - "Russian forces have taken Chernobyl" - The Ukrainian presidency said that Russian forces have taken the Chernobyl area.
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18.50 - Biden: “Devastating sanctions” - “We have agreed to carry out further sanctions on Russia, which will be devastating.” American President Joe Biden tweeted after the G7.
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6.15 pm - Great Britain bans all Russian banks and Aeroflot - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the banning of all Russian banks from the City's financial market. Even Aeroflot, the main Russian airline, while another 100 Russian individuals, entities and companies are sanctioned. Also announced measures to limit the capital deposited by Russian citizens in bank accounts in the Kingdom.
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5.35 pm - Putin: "The attack was necessary to defend us" - The invasion of Ukraine was a "necessary measure" by Russia to defend its territory. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with local entrepreneurs.
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17.30 - Zelensky: "Russia has taken the military port of Kiev" - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a video message the conquest by the Russian forces of the military airport of Hostomel on the outskirts of Kiev, however announcing the attempt of the Ukrainian army to regain control and that the landing of the Russian paras has been "blocked" for the moment.
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17.20 - G7 to Russia: "Withdraw your forces and stop the bloodbath" - The G7 asks Russia for a de-escalation: immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine and stop the bloodbath. This was stated by the G7 in a note.
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5 pm - "The attack aims to behead the government of Kiev" - The Russian offensive in Ukraine aims to "behead" the government of Kiev: said a senior executive of the American administration.
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16.36 - Moscow: "We will respond to sanctions" - Russia will respond with "inevitable acts of retaliation" to what it calls the "illegitimate" sanctions of the European Union. This was stated by the permanent representative of Moscow to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, quoted by Interfax, underlining that he had informed the Union.
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4.33 pm - Over 100 missiles used by the Russians - "We estimate that more than 100 Russian missiles were used" in the attacks on Ukraine, according to a Pentagon official quoted by the Bloomberg agency.
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16.30 - Curfew in Kiev - The mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitchko has announced a curfew in the city. After the attack began, President Zelensky had instead imposed martial law across the nation. Provisions of "war", therefore, in the country under Russian attack.
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16.20 - Zelensky: "The Russians want the Chernobyl power plant"
“The Russian occupation forces are trying to take over the Chernobyl power plant. Our soldiers are giving their lives so that the 1986 tragedy does not repeat itself. I also reported it to the Swedish premier. This is a declaration of war on all of Europe. ”Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Twitter.
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3.50 pm - Hungary: “Ready to help refugees” - "The Hungarian government, together with its EU and NATO allies, condemns Russia's military action". This was stated by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. The premier believes that Europe will remain united on the issue and could take joint measures to respond to the attack from Moscow. "The designated military and police units have started working in the Ukrainian-Hungarian border area," explains Orban, adding that Hungary is ready to "provide assistance" to refugees and will be able to "address this challenge in a way fast and effective ".
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3.12 pm - New alarm sirens in Kiev
New alarm sirens for possible bombing in Kiev. The population was invited to go to the air-raid shelters. The local administration reports.
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3.10 pm - A hospital hit, 4 dead - According to information released by the Ukrainian military command, the Russians hit a hospital in Vuhledar, in the Donetsk region. The toll is 4 dead and 10 injured, including 6 doctors. 203 would be the attacks since the beginning of the day in almost the entire territory.
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3 pm - Moscow: "74 military targets destroyed"
Moscow claims to have destroyed 74 military targets, including 11 runways. The Russian army declares it.
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14.50 - Kiev: "We are attacked on several fronts, we need help"
Russia is attacking Ukraine on several fronts, from the north, east and south. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said this, according to reports from CNN. "Our army repels attacks, the enemy suffers significant losses," he added.
"The main thing now is to focus as much as possible on defending the country and safeguarding people's normality," Podolyak said. However, he warned that "Ukraine needs more support from the world, specific support: technical-military and financial support and severe sanctions against Russia. The West must act today".
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14.42 - Waiting for Biden's statements, at 18 he will announce new sanctions
Joe Biden will issue a statement on Ukraine and announce new sanctions on Russia at 12 noon local time, 6pm Italian time. The CNN correspondent at the White House reports this, citing some sources of the administration. The US president has convened the National Security Council.
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2.35pm - Fights 30 kilometers from Kiev
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak says there is heavy fighting at Hostomel airport, about 30 kilometers northwest of Kiev. Bloomberg reports it.
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2.25 pm - "Bombs near the Italian-Ukrainian school"
"This morning we heard the bombings on the outskirts of Zhytomyr, about 40 km from here, where the Ozerne air base is. The children stayed at home, now there are only 6 teachers and staff at school. We are in the shelter and let's try to figure out what to do ". This was stated by Nataliya Nagalevska, teacher of the Italian-Ukrainian school 'Vsesvit' in Zhytomyr, 150 km west of Kiev. "Our province borders on Belarus, there are rumors that some tanks have entered from there," he adds.
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2.10 pm - Kiev expects an attack on the seat of government
During a briefing at the presidential office in Kiev, Zelensky's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak advised reporters to work from their newsrooms as Ukrainian authorities expect an assault on the seat of government. This was announced on Twitter by various media present in the Ukrainian capital.
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2 pm - Von der Leyen: "Very harsh penalties"
"The EU will make it impossible for the Kremlin to continue with its action. Later we will present a package of massive and targeted sanctions. They will be very tough financial sanctions, they will have a very heavy impact on the Russian economy and they will suppress the growth of Russia, for example. erode its industrial base. We will see a lot of capital exiting the country. We will limit Moscow's access to key technologies. " This was announced by the president of the EU Commission Ursula Von der Leyen after a meeting with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and the president of the EU council Charles Michel.
"Putin will have to explain these sanctions to the Russian people, who did not want this war," added Von der Leyen.
EU Council President Charles Michel instead launched an appeal to Belarus: "You have the option not to follow Russia in this tragedy," he said.
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13.56 - Rockets on the outskirts of Kiev, dead and wounded
Russia fired two rockets into the city of Brovary, on the outskirts of Kiev, hitting two Ukrainian military units and causing at least 6 deaths and 12 injuries. This was reported by the Kiev Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
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13.50 - Lukashenko: "If necessary our troops in Ukraine"
Belarusian troops could participate in Russia's invasion of Ukraine if this were necessary, said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. This was reported by the BBC, which quotes the state press agency Belta.
"I repeat: our troops are not there. But if it is necessary for Belarus and Russia, they will be there," said Lukashenko.
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13.45 - Draghi: "Embassy in Kiev operational, also to protect the 2 thousand Italian residents"
"Our Embassy in Kiev is open, fully operational and maintains relations with the Ukrainian authorities, in close coordination with the other Embassies, also for the protection of the approximately 2000 Italian residents. The Embassy remains on maximum alert, ready to adopt any necessary decision". Mario Draghi said this in a statement to the press.
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13.40 - Draghi: "Harsh sanctions, Putin put an end to the bloodshed"
"Putin put an end to the bloodshed and withdraw military forces from Ukrainian borders unconditionally". this was stated by Prime Minister Draghi, who speaks of a dialogue with Moscow "now impossible" and announces "harsh sanctions" to be decided in the EU.
"These are hours of great concern for citizens: tomorrow I will report to Parliament on the ongoing conflict, the government intends to work tirelessly to resolve the crisis alongside our allies and we will do everything necessary" to guarantee the "sovereignty of Ukraine and the EU security, the international order based on the rules we all share ", adds the prime minister.
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13.35 - Ukrainian military plane crashes
"A military plane of the Ukrainian armed forces with 14 people on board crashed between the villages of Zhukivtsi and Trypillia, in the Obukhiv district", south of Kiev, "causing five deaths". This was reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior.
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13.25 - Moscow: "Ready to negotiate if Ukraine gives up its weapons"
Russia is ready to hold negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership on its neutral status and on the promise not to host weapons on its territory: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Interfax.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his vision on what we would expect from Ukraine to solve these conceptually 'red line' problems. It is its neutral status and refusal to host weapons," Peskov said, adding that "the question is whether the leadership of Ukraine is ready to talk about this."
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13.20 - Hypothesis of Italian troops redeployment
Between tomorrow and Saturday, according to what is learned from government sources, the Council of Ministers could meet again to pass a decree for a new deployment of Italian troops, in line with the device that NATO is putting in place after the attacks Russians in Ukraine. The decisions, it is emphasized, are subordinated to the Higher Defense Council, convened by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in the afternoon.
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1.15 pm - Johnson: "Putin dictator, stop him even militarily"
"Diplomatically, politically, economically and - eventually - militarily, this horrible and barbaric adventure of the dictator Vladimir Putin must end in failure". British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said so.
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13.02 - Russian troops advance towards Kiev
Russian troops broke through and entered the Kiev region. This was announced by the Ukrainian soldiers who are garrisoning the border.
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12.50 pm - Erdogan: "Unacceptable attack"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Russia's military operation in Ukraine "unacceptable", describing it as "a blow to the stability and prosperity of our region" during a conference in Ankara. This was announced by the Anadolu agency.
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12.35 pm - Massacre in Odessa
A Russian air raid on a military base near Odessa, Ukraine's strategic port on the Black Sea, left at least 18 deaths, including 10 women. The regional administration reports it in a note. "Right now, we are still digging in the rubble," adds the note.
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12.20 - Stoltenberg: "Brutal act of war"
“Russia attacked Ukraine, it is a brutal act of war. What we had been saying for months has happened. It is a serious moment for us, the war is in Europe ”. The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said in a conference from Brussels.
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11.55 - NATO: "We will not accept illegal recognition from Moscow"
"NATO allied countries will never accept illegal recognition" from Moscow. "We urgently call on Russia to turn back from its chosen path of violence and aggression". This is what we read in the conclusions of the NATO Atlantic Council.
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11.50 am - Macron: "NATO Summit". Scholz: "It's Putin's war"
French President Emmanuel Macron has asked for a NATO summit meeting "as soon as possible". "There is no justification for all this. This is Putin's war," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said instead.
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11.45 am - Lukashenko: "NATO forces are increasing on the Belarusian border"
NATO is rapidly increasing its forces on the border with Belarus on the Polish and Baltic sides: Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said, according to Tass reports. "Along the perimeter of our border in Poland and the Baltic states, NATO's military potential is increasing rapidly," noted the Belarusian leader.
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11.45 am - Russian Ambassador in Rome: "Italy guarantees the security of the Russians"
Moscow's ambassador to Rome, Sergey Razov, "expressed the hope that, with respect to the Ukrainian situation, Italy will maintain the considered policy that traditionally characterizes bilateral relations between Russia and Italy". The Russian embassy writes this in a note, after the diplomat summoned to the Farnesina this morning.
The ambassador also asks "for the security of all Russian citizens on Italian territory, including the staff of the diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation, to be guaranteed at the right level".
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11.40 am - Witness: "Kiev airport also bombed"
"I live in the central area of Kiev. I was awakened at dawn by a phone call from my mother who told me that she heard four or five explosions near her home from the Kiev-Boryspil International Airport. The airport was attacked. and the military base of Brovary, the city where I was born ": says Anastasiya Menzhega, 25, architect and designer from Kiev.
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11.30 - Zelensky: "Russia like the Nazis in World War II"
"Russia treacherously attacked us this morning, as Nazi Germany did in the years of World War II. To this day, our countries are on different sides of world history. Russia has taken the path of evil, but the 'Ukraine is defending itself and will not give up its freedom, whatever Moscow thinks. " Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted it.
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11.15 - Zelensky: "Donate blood, it serves the wounded soldiers"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for Ukrainian citizens to donate blood, "wounded soldiers need it," he said. He also addressed employers, asking them to take care of employees, to ensure that supplies are not interrupted.
Meanwhile, hospitals are in difficulty: even urgent interventions have been blocked, many today did not show up for work "to secure families".
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11.10 am - Lithuania imposes a state of emergency
Lithuania imposes a state of emergency after the Russian attack on Ukraine. "Today I will sign a decree that imposes a state of emergency", Lithuanian President Gitanas Naueda said at a meeting of the National Defense Council, confirming that the country is ready to "ask for the activation of Article 4 of NATO" which provides emergency consultations if an alliance member is threatened.
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11 am - Kiev: "More than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and 10 Ukrainian civilians killed"
"More than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and about 10 civilians were killed." This was announced by the Ukrainian presidency.
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10.40 am - Moscow: "Civilians have nothing to fear"
The Russian military says civilians in Ukraine "have nothing to fear".
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10.15 - Mariupol, the mayor: "Houses destroyed, even a child was injured"
"Twelve houses were destroyed. Six people were injured, including a child." This was stated by the mayor of Mariupol, Boitschenko, in a press conference in progress and broadcast by the German broadcaster NTV on the first budget of the Russian attack. "The most important thing is to stay calm and not panic," he added. Mariupol is located in southeastern Ukraine and is one of the most affected cities.
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10.10 am - Kiev calls citizens to arms
All those who are ready and know how to use weapons can join the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their region: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote today on Facebook, stressing that the country "is switching to mode of complete defense ". Interfax reports it.
In addition to the capital, the cities most besieged by the bombings are Kharkiv (east), Ivano Frankivsk (west), Kramatorsk (east), Dnipro (east), Odessa (south) and Mariupol (southeast).
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IMAGES FROM KIEV:
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10.05 am - Kiev: "50 Russians killed"
Ukraine claims to have killed "about 50 Russian occupiers".
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10 am - Berlin: "We woke up in another world"
"Dear citizens and citizens today we woke up in another world". Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said this in a statement in Berlin. "We are speechless, but we are not helpless", he added, announcing coordination with partners to approve new "very harsh" sanctions.
"We cannot be so dependent" on the energy front "on a country that obviously no longer respects international law", said the Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck, reiterating that Nord Stream 2 will not come into operation "in the short- middle term".
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9.50 am - Farnesina summons the Russian ambassador
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Ettore Francesco Sequi, summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Italian Republic, Sergey Razov, on the instructions of Minister Luigi Di Maio this morning. Ambassador Sequi - the Farnesina informs - expressed to the Russian diplomat the firm condemnation of the Italian government for the very serious, unjustified and unprovoked attack by Moscow against Ukraine, which constitutes a clear and clear violation of international law.
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9.35 am - Lukashenko: "Belarus does not participate in the invasion"
The Belarusian army is not participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was stated by President Lukashenko.
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9.20 am - China: "Invasion? A preconceived word"
On the umpteenth question about the "invasion" of Ukraine by Russia posed by the Western media, the spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, rejected "the preconceived use of words". During the daily briefing, Hua added that he considers the story a "typical style of asking questions of the Western media".
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9.10 - EU: "Heavy sanctions, we will weaken the Russian economy"
"Putin has brought the war to Europe, his goal is stability in the EU. Today we will present a package of extensive sanctions, we will weaken the Russian economy". The president of the EU Commission Urusula von der Leyen says so. "We will adopt the toughest package of measures ever adopted," adds EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Borrell.
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9.10 - Warsaw asks for the activation of NATO article 4
Warsaw asks for the activation of article 4 of the NATO treaty, which provides for "emergency consultations if a member is threatened". The Polish ambassador to Brussels, where NATO is based, "has submitted a request to the NATO secretary general, along with a group of allies," said Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller. Ukraine is not a NATO member, but the alliance has repeatedly condemned Russia's aggression against its neighbor.
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9.05 am - Kiev denies the Russian landing in Odessa
The Ukrainian armed forces have denied that there has been a landing of Russian troops in Odessa, on the Black Sea. This is what is stated in a statement from the General Staff published by the UNIAN agency. "The information on the landing of Russian troops in Odessa is not true", reads the text. But Russian ground forces entered Ukrainian territory from multiple points of the border, Ukrainian border guards point out, posting a video showing vehicles marked with the Z mark.
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9 am - The testimonies: "Bombs are falling, we ask for help"
"They are bombing us, we hear loud explosions everywhere, there are many planes passing over our heads and bombs falling. It is difficult to get in touch with the outside, even with technological means. We ask everyone for help". This is the testimony of Lyubomyr, a boy who lives in Kolomyia, a city in western Ukraine.
"The war has broken out, we need all the help we can get". This is instead the testimony of Anastasiya Menzhega, 25, architect and designer in Kiev. "There are explosions everywhere. We ask for help as soon as possible."
(Unioneonline / L)
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