Ukraine and Russia Update: Russia Strikes Again Killing Thousands of People (Video )
Touchaheart Nigeria brings to you recent update on the war between Russia and Ukraine, see all collated updates as Russia strikes again.
Dozens dead after Russia launches full-
scale invasion of Ukraine
More than 100 people have been killed in Russia’s invasion, according to Ukraine, with battle raging across the country and Russian forces marching on Kyiv, the capital.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, including air strikes and shelling against various cities and bases, as well as land and sea attacks.
On the first day of the Russian invasion, 137 civilians and military people were killed in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a video message delivered early Friday, he referred to them as “heroes” and stated that 316 people had been injured.
“They’re killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It’s foul and will never be forgiven,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian forces.
Read More: Central Bank of Ukraine Halts Currency Market, Imposes Restrictions On Cash Withdrawals
Explosions heard in the capital early on Friday were described by the besieged government as “horrific rocket strikes”.
According to the UN refugee agency, the bombings in Kyiv kicked off the second day of an invasion that has already displaced at least 100,000 people.
In the deadliest single hit of Russia’s campaign, 18 people were killed at a military installation near the Black Sea city of Odesa, according to Kyiv.
On Thursday, the mayor of Mariupol reported that Russia’s assault had killed three civilians and injured six more in the eastern port city.
A youngster was murdered in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region when shelling struck an apartment building, according to emergency services.
Ukraine’s military reported on Thursday that four Russian tanks were destroyed on a road near Kharkiv, 50 personnel were killed near a village in the Luhansk area, and six Russian jets were shot down somewhere in the east.
A military plane carrying 14 people crashed south of Kyiv, with officials still trying to figure out how many people killed, while a transport plane crashed in Russia, killing the crew.
Russia has refuted allegations that its planes or armored vehicles had been destroyed. Separatists backed by Russia claim to have shot down two Ukrainian planes.
The casualty figures could not be independently verified.
On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said that Russia had carried out 203 strikes since the start of the day.
International nuclear watchdogs expressed worry after Ukraine said that Russian forces had seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Moscow’s defense ministry stated on Thursday that its forces had “successfully achieved” their day’s objectives, after claiming to have destroyed more than 70 Ukrainian military facilities, including 11 airfields, earlier in the day.
Read More: Ukraine and Russia: All You Need To Know About The War
Ukraine’s military airbases and air defense systems have been neutralized, according to the defense ministry.
According to Anton Herashchenko, an assistant to the interior minister, Ukrainian forces shot down an aircraft above Kyiv early Friday, which then fell into a residential structure and caught fire. It wasn’t obvious whether the plane was manned.
‘Brutal act of war’
Putin justified his actions in a televised address early on Thursday, claiming that the attack was necessary to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine — a claim Ukraine and its allies have condemned as baseless and a pretext for a larger invasion.
Read More: Queen Elizabeth Cancels Virtual Activities Twice After Testing Positive To Covid-19
Putin also accused the US and its allies of neglecting Russia’s requests for Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO membership as well as security guarantees. He has previously referred to Ukraine as a “artificial fabrication” and questioned the country’s right to self-determination.
Following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, President Zelenskyy announced martial law, severed diplomatic ties with Moscow, and urged civilians to join the struggle to protect the country.
”As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. “Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom.”
The NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s “brutal act of war” had shattered European peace, joining a chorus of world leaders condemning the attack, which could result in massive casualties, topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government, and upend the post-Cold War security order.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns about a potential health crisis in Ukraine.
“Amid the conflict rapidly unfolding in Ukraine, the WHO Regional Office for Europe reiterates its deepest concern for the safety, health and wellbeing of all civilians impacted by the crisis in the country and possibly beyond,” the office said in a statement, warning any further escalation could result in a humanitarian catastrophe.
The European arm of the world health body added it was working closely “with all UN partners in rapidly scaling up readiness to respond to the expected health emergency triggered by the conflict”.
