Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Day two. Timeline of events, February, 25

  The Kyiv administration reports the threat of an air attack, everyone is recommended to go to shelters. “The situation in Kyiv is now, without exaggeration, dangerous. This night, closer to morning, it will be very difficult”, wrote the mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko.

  The hostilities affected Kyiv, Kharkov (in these cities, some people spent the night in the metro), as well as Sumy and Kherson.

  Today, Moscow and Kyiv discussed negotiations in Minsk, but the conversation reached a dead end – Russia blames the Ukrainian authorities for this.

  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on NATO countries to cut Russia off from SWIFT. Italy and Austria said they would support this decision.

  NATO will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, including air defense systems, said the head of the alliance, Stoltenberg.

  The Anonymous hacker group hacked the website of the Russian Defense Ministry. The hackers claim to have leaked a database containing phone numbers, email addresses and names of ministry employees.

  Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU Chizhov: “Russia does not need the territory of Ukraine. But the territory of the DPR and LPR will be expanded to the size of entire regions. Russia, at the end of the operation [as the Russian authorities refer to this war], will withdraw troops from Ukraine, and Zelensky will face a tribunal”.

  UN: More than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees left the country in less than 48 hours, most of them went to Poland and Moldova

  World celebrities, including David Lynch, Sean Penn, Javier Bardem spoke out against the hostilities in Ukraine. David Lynch addressed Putin: “Right now, Mr. Putin, you are sowing death and destruction… My advice is: save yourself, save the Ukrainians, save the world”:

PHOTO: Anti-war rallies in St. Petersburg and Moscow this evening. Participants are beaten and detained

A rally in support of Ukraine and against Russian aggression took place in Tbilisi. Many participants were chanting  “Georgia is not Garibashvili”.

Many are outraged by the decision of the Georgian prime minister not to join the sanctions of Western countries against Russia, as well as PM’s statements, including “Real sabotage is a useless noise around Ukraine that our opponents (opposition) are making”; “Today, nothing threatens us. We need to remain calm. Georgia is not in danger”.

Read more about the Georgian Prime Minister’s arguments here.

  There was a partial blackout in Kiyv – on the bridges across the Dnieper and on many streets, the lighting was completely turned off. Air raid alerts intensified. On social media people say that this may be a sign of a possible imminent bombing of the city.

“Despite the desperate efforts of the Ukrainian army, unfortunately, control over the crossing to Kherson has been lost”, the administration of the Kherson region said. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has not yet commented on this.

  Russian President Putin: Kiyv must recognize Crimea and refuse to join NATO. The West must stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. Putin’s spokesman Peskov said that “Ukraine, in response to the idea of ​​holding talks in Minsk, proposed Warsaw, and then stopped responding”. He said that the Ukrainian authorities, after Moscow’s response about their readiness for negotiations, took a break, and they themselves “continued to simultaneously deploy weapons in residential areas, this is a dangerous situation”.

  Russia announced a partial restriction of access to Facebook. This is a retaliatory measure for the fact that Facebook restricted the accounts of four Russian pro-Kremlin media: Zvezda TV channel, RIA Novosti, Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru

  Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe has been suspended, but the Strasbourg Court will remain accessible to Russians as the highest court.

  Russia is excluded from the number of participants in Eurovision this year.

  The Russian airline S7 is forced to cancel hundreds of flights to Europe until March 13, as European countries have closed their airspace for it.

VIDEO: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov gathered thousands of fighters and announced their readiness to fight in Ukraine

  The EU summit agreed on the “toughest ever” package of sanctions against Russia. This was announced by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. The list of sanctions will not include the most discussed item – disconnecting Russia from SWIFT – due to Europe’s fears related to the  field of energy security, Bloomberg reports.

  EU financial sanctions will affect about 70% of Russian banks. The assets of President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov will be frozen, but they will not be banned from entering Europe.

  Sanctions will also affect the supply of aircraft parts to Russia. There will also be restrictions for holders of Russian diplomatic passports.

  Putin at a meeting of the Russian Security Council: “I don’t expect to reach any agreements with a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that settled in Kiyv and took the entire Ukrainian people hostage”. Putin called on the Ukrainian military to take power into their own hands.

  Before that, the Kremlin’s spokesperson said that “Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk for negotiations with Ukraine. Zelensky said he was ready for status-neutral talks. Initially, President Vladimir Putin said that the purpose of the operation was to help the LPR and the DPR, including through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. This, in fact, is an integral component of the neutral status.

  Finland announced the complete cessation of the broadcast of Russia Today.

  Broadcasting of leading Russian TV channels was banned for various periods in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.

  Russian Foreign Ministry: The possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO will require Russia’s reciprocal steps.

  Poland will close its skies to Russian airlines from midnight.

  The Czech Republic also plans to close the airspace for Russian aircraft. Prague is also stopping the issuance of residence permits for Russians, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

  The International Olympic Committee called on the sports federations of the world to transfer all competitions from the territory of Russia and Belarus.

  The World Chess Olympiad 2022 will not be held in Russia, the International Chess Federation has announced.

  “The goal of the Russian operation is to hold the puppet regime in Kiev accountable for the crimes committed”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

  Russian Defense Ministry:

1. Russian troops captured the Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev without loss and killed 200 “Ukrainian nationalists”;
2. Kiyv is blocked from the West. Chernihiv is completely blocked;
3. The Ukrainian military placed Grads on Shevchenko Square. The Ministry of Defense believes that they will hit Gostomel in order to provoke a retaliatory strike on residential areas.
4. The Russian army will not shell residential areas of Kiev.

VIDEO: Ex-president of Ukraine Poroshenkowith a machine gun and the words “Putin is coming to kill us”

 Air raid sirens are sounding on the Maidan right now. “The city has entered a defense phase, the enemy has penetrated Kiyv and wants to destroy us”, the mayor of Kiev, Klitschko, addressed the townspeople. Local publications report that Ukrainian troops are entering Kiev.

  The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Russian troops will not shell residential areas of Kiyv.

  Russian Defense Ministry: Russian paratroopers occupied the Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev, “200 nationalists from the special forces of Ukraine were killed”.

  President of Ukraine: “I would like to address the President of the Russian Federation once again. Combats are ongoing on all over Ukraine. Let’s sit down at the negotiating table. This will prevent loss of lives”.

  Russian President Putin in a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping: Russia is ready for high-level negotiations with Ukraine, China Central Television reports.

  Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also called for the beginning of negotiations with Ukraine on one condition: the Ukrainian army must lay down its arms.

  UN: At least 25 civilians were killed and another 102 were injured in Ukraine during the Russian invasion – that is, in the last two days. Officially, Ukraine reported the death of 137 people, including military personnel.

  Up to 10,000 military personnel of the Chechen National Guard may be dispatched to Ukraine on the personal order of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. These detachments are popularly called “windows-doors” because they are trained to conduct combat operations in the city and “clean up” buildings. Presumably, about 2,000 members of the Chechen battalions “South”, “North” and “OMON” are already in Ukraine.

  Ramzan Kadyrov invited Zelensky to apologize to Putin, “before he  (Zelensky) becomes ex-president”:

  Apple Pay and Google Pay will no longer work with cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks.

  The Russian stage of the Formula 1 World Championship has been cancelled. Prior to this, several riders refused to participate in the Russian Grand Prix.

  Manchester United football club terminated the contract with Aeroflot, which used to be its official carrier.

  Oleksiy Goncharenko, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine addressed Georgia: “Georgia did not support sanctions against Russia. Do you have stockholm syndrome? Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the sanctions would cause serious damage to his country. Even the parliament does not meet to discuss this […] Georgians, brothers, how do you like it? Have you forgotten how the President of Ukraine arrived when Russian tanks approached Tbilisi in 2008? Will you endure this or explain Garibashvili what he should do?”

VIDEO: Weapons are handed out to Kiyv:

  Explosions near the airport “Julian” in Kiev.

  Associated Press: Gunshots are heard near government quarter in Kiev

  The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine distributed weapons to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada.

  UEFA has moved the 2022 Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris.

 French Ministry of Economy: France will block the accounts of all Russians who fall under sanctions.

  Finland will allocate $ 50 million to Ukraine for defense.

  Rosaviatsia banned British aircraft from flying to Russia as a response to British sanctions.

 Georgian Prime Minister Garibashvili: Georgia will not join Western sanctions against Russia.

  The Russian VTB bank, which is under the sanctions of many countries, will continue its activities in Georgia. The National Bank of Georgia said that, together with VTB, they had previously developed an action plan in case of sanctions, so the bank is solvent, the interests of depositors are protected.

PHOTO: Unexploded rockets found in Kharkiv residential areas

VIDEO: Military equipment in Kiyv courtyards (UNIAN:)

  A large column of Russian military equipment on the outskirts of Kiyv.

VIDEO: Russian tanks in residential areas of Kiyv

  The German finance minister announced a “complete blockade” of Russian banks. The German Ministry of Finance has practically stopped doing business with Russia.

 Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation: 11 military airfields in Ukraine are disabled. 150 Ukrainian soldiers laid down their arms and surrendered to Russia. The Russian Air Force took control of the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

? Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: Ukrainian armed forces repulsed the attack of Russian troops near Chernihiv.

? Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine: A Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group, which, under the cover of the Ukrainian military, tried to invade the center of Kiev, was neutralized.

? President of Ukraine Zelensky invited the countries of Eastern Europe to form an anti-war coalition and together force Russia to make peace. The list of proposed measures includes economic pressure on Russia and military assistance to Ukraine.

VIDEO: Russian tank runs over a car near Kiyv’s Obolon

Until now,  Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has not issued any comments on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Today, for the first time, the Ministry has mentioned the ongoing war,  but only in the form of an appeal to the citizens of Azerbaijan who are currently located in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that “in case of a serious danger, it is possible to enter Moldova from Ukraine by land through the border checkpoints of Ocnita and Palanca”. Also, Azerbaijani citizens in Ukraine are urged to stay away from military installations, stay at home and stay safe.

At this moment, no other official structure or official in Azerbaijan, including the president, has ever commented on the war in Ukraine.

Ukranian General Staff report as of 8 am:

  At 4 am, anti-aircraft systems repelled “two fatal blows from the “brothers” in the direction of Kiyv”. (quote).

  Russian troops were airlifted to the area of ​​the city of Kropyvnytskyi (Kirovograd region).

  The Ukrainian military recorded the activity of Russian helicopters near Vilkovo and Tiraspol (both located near the border with Moldova).

  The largest concentration of Russian military equipment is in the area of ​​Dimer and Ivankov (Kyiv region), where fighting is ongoing. Ukrayinska Pravda reports that Ukrainian forces blew up the bridge to hinder the advance of Russian tanks.

 The General Staff confirms the information about the destruction of the bridge across the Teterev River in the Zhytomyr region.

  There is a battle around the Antonov (Gostomel) airfield near Kiev. It has now returned under the control of Ukrainian forces after being captured by Russian forces yesterday.

  Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: Konotop is surrounded by Russian troops, street fighting is going on in Sumy.

  Advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Gerashchenko: “Today will be the hardest day! The invader’s plan is a tank attack on Kiyv!

  Ukrainian Foreign Minister: “The last time this happened to Kiev was in 1941, when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil. It will win this time too. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Cut ties with it”.

  President of Ukraine Zelensky addressed the Russians: “Tonight they started bombing residential areas of Kiyv, all this reminds of 1941. To all citizens of the Russian Federation who come out to protest, I want to say – we see you. Fight for us, fight against the war”.

  During the first day of the war in Ukraine, Russian businessmen lost $39 billion, Bloomberg reports. Among them are billionaires from Putin’s inner circle.

VIDEO: Kiyv metro this morning

  The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, is going to visit Chechen fighters who are participating in the Russian operation on the territory of Ukraine. There are reports on social media that special forces from Chechnya “started hunting” for Ukrainian officials and security officials. It is reported that they were given a “deck of cards” – photographs with a description of those who need to be found and captured. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.

VIDEO: Kadyrov on the plane before landing in Ukraine, state TV channel ChGTRK Grozny:

  As a result of the morning shelling of Kiev, a residential building caught fire, several are wounded. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the fire after the remnants of the Kalibr cruise missile, which was shot down by air defense, hit the house:

  Pentagon: During the night, Russia launched 160 missiles into Ukraine. Kiyv, Odessa and Zaporozhye are being shelled.

  President of Ukraine Zelensky: The Ukrainian Zmeiniy island [a strategically important point] was captured by Russian troops. 13 border guards stationed there were killed.

At about 05.00 am, two powerful explosions went off  in Kiev. Here is an eyewitness account: 

 Advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko: “Strikes on Kiev with cruise or ballistic missiles continued”. Late last night, CNN reported that the shelling of Kiev from the air could begin at night.

 General mobilization has been announced in Ukraine.

 President of Ukraine Zelensky: Since the Russian attack, 137 Ukrainians have died, 316 people have been injured.

  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commented on EU sanctions against Russia:

1. The sanctions will affect 70% of the Russian banking sector and the largest state-owned companies, including those in the defense sector.
2. The EU’s target is the energy sector, a blow to the oil sector: “Russia will not be able to modernize its refineries”.
3. A ban on the sale of aircraft and equipment to Russian airlines.
4. Restricting Russia’s access to critical technologies, including advanced software.
5. Russian diplomats and related groups and businessmen will no longer have privileged access to the European Union.

Canada has imposed sanctions against several leading Russian officials and heads of state-owned companies, as well as Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, Sovcombank, Gazprom, Transneft and others.

  CNN: “U.S. economic sanctions could paralyse Russia’s industrial base, depriving it of key components it needs to run day-to-day business”. These are the largest in relation to a country with an economy of this size and so integrated into world markets. Banks with total assets of over a trillion dollars are now under the sanctions. At the same time, the West still has the opportunity to disconnect Russia from SWIFT, but so far some European countries are not if they themselves may suffer from such a measure.

  CNN: “Personal sanctions against Putin are unlikely to have a tangible impact on his finances, which are either carefully hidden and protected, or don’t exist in the usual sense of the word. But there is significant symbolism in the move, and Biden reiterated that it remains on the negotiating agenda. So far, the US has targeted high-ranking Putin supporters, his entourage, and their relatives”.

  US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken: “Russia will try to overthrow the Ukrainian leadership”.

  White House: Employees of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which ended up under the control of the Russian military yesterday after a fierce battle, are being held hostage.

  The Moldovan government announced the creation of two camps to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

  Poland continues to accept refugees from Ukraine. Media reports that people queue at the border for up to 10 hours.

  The famous hacker group Anonymous has declared a “cyber war against Russia”. They reported this on their Twitter account and said that they brought down the Russia Today website.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, day one. Follow the imeline of February 24 events here.