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February 26th, 2022 
Awake Goy 
Invading Russian forces have closed in on Ukraine’s capital in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of air attacks on cities and military bases around the country.
Frequent artillery blasts could be heard in Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, coming from an unspecified location some distance from the city centre, according to the Reuters news agency.The invasion of Ukraine began early on Thursday with missile attacks on cities and military bases, followed by a multipronged ground assault that rolled troops in from separatist-held areas in the east; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north.
The assault, anticipated for weeks by the West, amounts to Europe’s most significant ground conflict since World War II. It is unclear how much or little Russian forces have seized or the extent of the casualties.
Here is what we know about the conflict so far:
‘This night they will storm’
With growing signs that Russia aims to overthrow him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European Union leaders in a video link-up from his bunker late on Thursday that it might be the last time they saw him alive.
But on Friday, Zelenskyy released a video of himself and his senior aides outside the presidential office in Kyiv to reassure Ukrainians that he and other top officials would stay in the capital.
He later appealed for a ceasefire and warned in a bleak statement of an impending Russian assault in Kyiv and other cities across the country.
“This night they will storm,” he said. “We must withstand tonight.”
Russian troops march on
The Russian military on Friday said it had encircled the cities of Sumy and Konotop in northeastern Ukraine but was “taking steps to ensure civilians’ safety”.
Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said their forces have so far knocked out 211 Ukrainian military installations, including 17 command centres, 19 air defence missile systems, 39 radar units, 67 tanks and six warplanes.
Russian troops are advancing on Ukraine’s capital from several directions after Russia’s leader ordered the invasion. In a pre-dawn TV address on 24 February, he declared Russia could could not feel “safe, develop and exist” because of what he claimed was a constant threat from modern Ukraine. Airports and military headquarters were hit first, near cities across Ukraine, then tanks and troops rolled into Ukraine from the north, east and south – from Russia and its ally Belarus.
Many of President Putin’s arguments were false or irrational. He claimed his goal was to protect people subjected to bullying and genocide and aim for the “demilitarisation and de-Nazification” of Ukraine. The Russian military also said it seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital.
Late on Friday, the Russian military said it has taken over Melitopol, a city near the Azov Sea. The claim could not immediately be independently verified.
Ukraine’s military reported shooting down an II-76 Russian transport plane carrying paratroopers near Vasylkiv, a city 40km (25 miles) south of Kyiv. It was unclear how many were on board, but the II-76 is able to carry up to 125 paratroopers.
‘Overall mood one of horrendous fear’
Waking to the second day of Russia’s invasion, horrified civilians found themselves at risk as artillery shells rained down on some residential buildings on Kyiv’s outskirts.
Thousands of Ukrainians crossed on Friday into neighbouring countries to the west in search of safety from the unfolding war in their country.
Cars were backed up for several kilometres at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilised to receive the Ukrainians, providing shelter, food and legal help. These countries also eased their usual border procedures, including COVID-19 testing requirements.
Sporting world turns its back
Russia has been stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA, with St Petersburg replaced by Paris, and Formula One has dropped this season’s Russian Grand Prix in Sochi in September. The showpiece final in the European men’s football season will still be held on May 28 but at the 80,000-seat Stade de France. The International Ski Federation announced Russia will not host any more of its World Cup events this season.
The European curling championships scheduled to be held in November in Perm, Russia, will also be relocated, the sport’s international governing body announced on Friday. The International Tennis Federation also cancelled all events taking place in Russia indefinitely.
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