Latest Russia-Ukraine updates: Battles rage for Ukraine’s cities

27 Feb 2022

Al Jazeera English

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Latest RussiaUkraine updates Battles rage for Ukraines cities

Ukraine news from February 26: UN says internal displacement also growing as Ukraine forces battle all-round assault.

Kyiv’s mayor imposes a city-wide curfew lasting until Monday morning after fighting reaches the capital’s streets.
The United States and its Western allies move to supply Kyiv with weapons as it faces down Russia’s invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country’s forces “have withstood and successfully repelled enemy attacks”.
Nearly 200 people have been killed so far, including civilians, three of whom were children, according to Ukraine’s health minister.
More than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the beginning of Moscow’s assault, the UN says.
Western countries have announced sweeping sanctions on Moscow, including measures targeting President Vladimir Putin himself.

The live blog is now closed; thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for February 26:

14 hours ago (20:59 GMT)

Lukashenko and Macron discuss Belarus’s role in Ukraine war, Minsk says

French President Emmanuel Macron and President Alexander Lukashenko – an ally of the Kremlin – have discussed Minsk’s role in the war in Ukraine, the Belarusian leader’s office says.

“The parties discussed Belarus’s position and involvement in the [Ukraine] conflict,” Lukashenko’s office said in a statement. They also talked about “the future of Europe” and “the relationship between Belarus and Russia”, it added.

14 hours ago (20:52 GMT)

France to deliver more military equipment to Ukraine

France will send more military equipment, as well as fuel, to Ukraine to help fight off the Russian invasion and slap more economic sanctions on Moscow, the country’s presidential office says in a statement.

The new sanctions would encompass “national measures to freeze the financial assets of Russian figures”, as well as “new measures” to be taken “with European partners concerning the SWIFT” interbank system, the Elysee Palace statement said.

14 hours ago (20:44 GMT)

EU to facilitate delivery of military aid to Ukraine

The European Union will facilitate the delivery of military aid to Ukraine, EU Council President Charles Michel says on Twitter.

“Democratic Ukraine will prevail,” he added.

EU defence in action in support to #Ukraine

Will facilitate deliveries of military aid from #EU to Ukraine.

Democratic #Ukraine will prevail. @ZelenskyyUa https://t.co/JQomw768DD

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) February 26, 2022

14 hours ago (20:37 GMT)

EU foreign ministers to discuss Ukraine aid, measures against Moscow on Sunday

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has announced that EU foreign ministers will come together for a virtual meeting on Sunday to adopt further measures in support of Ukraine and against “aggression by Russia”.

“I will propose a package of emergency assistance for the Ukrainian armed forces, to support them in their heroic fight,” he said on Twitter, adding that the meeting would start on Sunday at 17:00 GMT.

15 hours ago (20:00 GMT)

More than 3,000 arrested at Russian anti-war protests, monitor says

More than 3,000 people have been detained in Russia for participating in anti-war protests since Moscow launched its assault, according to protest monitoring group OVD-Info.

“In the last three days, at least 3,052 people were arrested,” OVD-Info tweeted. It said 467 people were arrested in 34 cities on Saturday alone.

15 hours ago (19:33 GMT)

Pope expresses ‘profound pain’ over invasion in call with Zelenskyy

Pope Francis has called Ukraine’s president and expressed his “most profound pain” for the country’s suffering, the Ukrainian Embassy to the Vatican says.

“The Holy Father expressed his most profound pain for the tragic events happening in our country,” the embassy said in a tweet.

The Vatican confirmed the call and in his own tweet, Zelenskyy said he thanked the pope “for praying for peace in Ukraine and a ceasefire”

“The Ukrainian people feel the spiritual support of His Holiness,” he added.

16 hours ago (19:12 GMT)

Russian assault on the capital has stalled, adviser to Zelenskyy says as night falls in Kyiv

An adviser to Ukraine’s president has claimed that Russia’s assault on Kyiv is not advancing and that about 3,500 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since Moscow launched its invasion.

“We are striking the enemy around Kyiv. The enemy is not moving for now,” Oleksiy Arestovych said.

There was no immediate response to the claim from Moscow, and Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the figures provided.

16 hours ago (19:09 GMT)

YouTube blocks RT, other Russian channels from generating revenue

YouTube has suspended multiple Russian channels, including state-funded media outlet RT, from generating revenue on the video service following a similar move by Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc.

“In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine … we’re pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions,” YouTube, which is operated by Alphabet Inc’s Google, said in a statement.

16 hours ago (19:03 GMT)

Netherlands to supply anti-tank weapons to Ukraine

The Netherlands will send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, the country’s defence ministry says.

The Dutch government will supply 50 Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons and 400 rockets, the ministry said in a letter to parliament.

16 hours ago (19:01 GMT)

UN chief tells Ukrainian president world body will boost aid

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken with Zelenskyy and told him the world body plans to “enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine”, according to a UN spokesperson.

“He informed the President that the United Nations would launch on Tuesday an appeal to fund our humanitarian operations in Ukraine,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Friday that more than $1bn will be needed for aid operations in Ukraine over the next three months as a result of Russia’s attack.

16 hours ago (18:50 GMT)

‘A sense of Russia having rolled the dice’: Analyst

Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the United Kingdom-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, says Moscow is “facing setbacks that it did not expect” but retains a “very significant” numerical advantage over Kyiv in military terms.

“It is taking casualties and Ukraine is taking prisoners, including some quite senior, at least one, possibly two, brigade commanders,” Gould-Davies told Al Jazeera from Washington.

“So Russia will be motivated now to accelerate the forces that it brings to this conflict,” he added. “So far, it has been using about less than half of the total forces it has mobilised and prepared for this [invasion]. So in numerical terms, it is quite clear that Russia has a very, very significant advantage.

“But the really impressive aspect of Ukraine’s resistance so far is how strong and how wide it has been … there is a sense of Russia having rolled the dice.”

16 hours ago (18:35 GMT)

Zelenskyy says he welcomes potential move to cut Russia off from SWIFT

Ukraine’s president has said he welcomes the prospect of Russia being disconnected from “global financial civilisation” as Western powers move to roll out punishing sanctions on Moscow over its attack on Ukraine.

EU member states are reportedly nearing an agreement on excluding Russia from the SWIFT global payments system.

“Our diplomats fought around the clock to inspire all European countries to agree on a strong and fair decision to disconnect Russia from the international interbanking network. We also have this victory,” Zelenskyy said in a video message.

“This is billions and billions of losses for Russia – a tangible price for this vile invasion of our country … Ukraine won the attention of the entire civilised world. And the practical result? Here it is – SWIFT… Disconnecting from global financial civilisation,” he added.

17 hours ago (18:26 GMT)

Germany to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, missiles

Germany’s government has approved the delivery of a batch of weapons to Ukraine in a major policy U-turn, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling Russia’s invasion of the country a “turning point”.

Berlin will supply Kyiv with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from its military’s stocks.

“The Russian invasion marks a turning point. It is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in defending against Putin’s invading army,” Scholz said on Twitter.

Read more on SWIFT here.

17 hours ago (17:49 GMT)

Greece says six nationals killed in Ukraine

Athens says that six Greek nationals have been killed and six others wounded by Russian bombing near the key southeastern port city of Mariupol.

“The death of our nationals creates grief and anger for this unacceptable Russian attack against civilians,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement.

The bombing took place on the outskirts of the villages of Sartana and Bugas, the foreign ministry said. It added that a child was among those wounded.

17 hours ago (17:36 GMT)

Photos: Ukrainians flee en masse

Masses of Ukrainians are fleeing from Russia’s invasion, with many exiting the country via its western borders in search of safety.

Take a look here.

Ukrainian refugees are seen arriving at a train station in Hungary

Two young girls are seen waiting at a checkpoint in Hungary

Refugees from Ukraine are seen arriving at the Medyka border crossing in Poland

18 hours ago (17:19 GMT)

Russian military convoys ‘flooding’ across the Russia-Ukraine border

Al Jazeera’s Rania Dridi, reporting from the city of Volgograd, in southwestern Russia, says military units in the area are being deployed across the border with Ukraine.

“Convoys of Russian military gear continue to flood across the Russia-Ukraine border; armoured gear and vehicle-mounted missiles,” Dridi said.

“The convoys will take part in the ongoing military operations, the fiercest of which is currently raging on the Donbas front,” she added, citing the region in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists control swaths of territory.

“This scene is repeated elsewhere as other convoys are crossing the borderline into Ukraine on other roads.”

18 hours ago (17:00 GMT)

Twitter says its site is being restricted in Russia

Twitter has said it is aware its service is being restricted for some people in Russia, adding it is working to keep the site safe and accessible.

Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks reported that the social media platform had been restricted on leading networks.

The throttling came after Moscow said on Friday that it was partially limiting access to Facebook, accusing it of “censoring” Russian media. It was not immediately clear what Russia’s restrictions on Facebook would involve.

We’re aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our service safe and accessible.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 26, 2022

18 hours ago (16:45 GMT)

Berlin discussing export of RPGs to Ukraine via a third country

Germany’s government is in talks over approving the delivery of 400 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to Ukraine via a third country but no final decision on whether to do so has been taken, the country’s defence ministry says.

If carried through, the move would signal a major policy shift after Berlin faced criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies.

Germany has a longstanding policy of not exporting weapons to warzones, rooted partly in its bloody 20th-century history and resulting pacifism. Countries aiming to onpass German weapons exports need to apply for approval in Berlin first.

Berlin is also still to decide on a request from Estonia regarding the passing on of old GDR howitzers to Ukraine. Finland had bought the howitzers in the 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and later re-sold them to Estonia.

19 hours ago (16:24 GMT)

‘Increasing fears’ as Russian forces advance on Ukraine’s cities

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Dnipro, says there are reports of Ukrainian forces in the key southeastern port city of Mariupol preparing to defend it from a possible Russian assault.

“Witnesses [in Mariupol] are telling us that there are what they describe as increasing numbers of Ukrainian paramilitaries on the streets, helping the Ukrainian army to defend the city from what we understand is a push by Russian forces from the west,” Stratford said.

“We know that the city has also suffered heavy shelling from the east,” he added.

“We’ve also been speaking to people fleeing the area north of Crimea, around the city of Kherson. People are alleging that Russian forces that have taken control of some of those towns are preventing Ukrainian citizens from leaving there.”

“There are increasing fears about the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are trying to put as much distance as they can between them and the Russian forces advancing on Ukrainian cities, as the front lines become increasingly blurred.”

19 hours ago (16:19 GMT)

Russian army ordered to broaden Ukraine advance

The Russian army has been given orders to broaden its offensive in Ukraine “from all directions” after Kyiv refused to hold talks in Belarus, the country’s defence ministry says.

“After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, today all units were given orders to develop the advance from all directions in accordance with the operation’s plans,” Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

19 hours ago (15:36 GMT)

UN refugee chief says 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country

More than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the start of Russia’s invasion, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees has said.

“Displacement in Ukraine is also growing but the military situation makes it difficult to estimate numbers and provide aid,” Filippo Grandi tweeted.

More than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have now crossed into neighbouring countries, half of them to Poland, and many to Hungary, Moldova, Romania and beyond.

Displacement in Ukraine is also growing but the military situation makes it difficult to estimate numbers and provide aid.

— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) February 26, 2022

20 hours ago (15:22 GMT)

‘Atmosphere of tension’ grips Ukraine’s countryside

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from a highway in central Ukraine, says there is an “atmosphere of tension” in the country’s rural areas.

“There are lots of checkpoints, barricades being put up and military reserves about,” Simmons said.

“They look stressed, and they’re looking for saboteurs,” he added. “There have been saboteurs arrested and killed … and, of course, it is dangerous for anyone on the streets, civilians or otherwise, because of that.”

20 hours ago (14:58 GMT)

A view from a city ‘frozen in horror’

Maria Avdeeva, a resident of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, has written a first-person account of Russia’s invasion for Al Jazeera.

“This city of 1.5 million people, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Russian border, where I was born and raised, is frozen in horror,” she writes. “The streets are deserted. The shelling continues.”

Click here to read the full account.

20 hours ago (14:49 GMT)

US official claims Russian forces frustrated by ‘viable’ Ukrainian resistance

Russian forces are becoming increasingly frustrated by what Washington believes is “viable” Ukrainian resistance, a US defence official has said.

“We know that they have not made the progress that they have wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” the official claimed, without providing evidence. “It has slowed them down.”

20 hours ago (14:38 GMT)

Ukraine open to talks, but not Russian ultimatums, Zelenskyy’s advisor says

Kyiv has denied suggestions from the Kremlin that it is refusing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia, but says it is not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, told the Reuters news agency that Ukraine has prepared a negotiating position but was being confronted with impractical negotiating conditions from Moscow.

“It was yesterday that the aggressive actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation escalated, up to evening and night mass air and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities,” he said. “We consider such actions only an attempt to break Ukraine and force it to accept categorically unacceptable conditions.”

20 hours ago (14:32 GMT)

EU should speed Ukraine’s path to membership, Poland’s president says

The EU should speed Ukraine’s path to membership, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said, adding that Kyiv should also have access to funds from the bloc for reconstruction.

“Poland supports an express path for Ukraine membership in the European Union,” Duda wrote on Twitter.

“Candidate status should be granted immediately and membership talks initiated immediately thereafter,” he added. “Ukraine should also have access to EU funds for reconstruction. This is what Ukraine deserves.”

21 hours ago (14:15 GMT)

Russia’s Chechen leader says his forces deployed in Ukraine

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region and an ally of Putin, says Chechen fighters have been deployed in Ukraine.

In a video posted online, Kadyrov claimed that units from the North Caucasus region – a constituent republic of Russia – had suffered no losses so far.

He alleged that Russian forces could easily take large control of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, but that their task was to avoid mass loss of life.

21 hours ago (14:00 GMT)

Zelenskyy thanks Turkey for military, other support

Ukraine’s president has thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Ankara’s “military and humanitarian” support, saying a “ban on the passage of [Russian] warships to the Black Sea” was very important for his country.

Turkey, which controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits that link the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, has not publicly announced any ban on Russian warships using the channels despite Kyiv’s urgent requests that it take such a measure.

On Friday, Turkey’s foreign minister said that under the 1936 convention covering the matter, Ankara could not bar warships returning to a home base in the Black Sea from passing through the straits. Russia has a major naval base in the Black Sea.

I thank my friend Mr. President of