Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a defiant message early on February 26 from Kyiv as Russian forces besieged the Ukrainian capital, saying there will be no Ukrainian capitulation.
“Do not believe fake news…. I am here. We are not laying down our arms. We will defend our state, our truth, our land, our children. All of this we will defend. This is what I wanted to tell you,” Zelenskiy said as he stood near the presidential office in downtown Kyiv in a video uploaded to his Twitter account.
Earlier, Zelenskiy urged the country to “stand firm” against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: “The fight is here.”
Invading Russian forces were reported to be moving in on the capital on February 26, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of air strikes on cities and military bases around the country. Artillery shells exploded in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted a photo on Twitter showing damage to an apartment block in Kyiv by a Russian missile strike.
“Kyiv, our splendid, peaceful city, survived another night under attacks by Russian ground forces, missiles. One of them has hit a residential apartment in Kyiv. I demand the world: Fully isolate Russia, expel ambassadors, oil embargo, ruin its economy. Stop Russian war criminals!”
Video later emerged showing what appeared to be the Russian missile strike on the apartment bloc.
No one was killed in the missile strike, but six were injured a rescue worker said.
An adviser to the interior minister said Russia was lying about not shelling civilian infrastructure.
Anton Herashchenko said at least 40 such sites had been hit and Russian troops were shelling civilian sites.
Ukrainian officials said Russian forces fired cruise missiles from the Black Sea at the cities of Sumy, Poltava, and Mariupol and there was heavy fighting near the southern city of Mariupol.
The Ukrainian military early on February 26 reported one of its jet fighters had shot down a second Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane. Two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of conditions on the ground in Ukraine said the Russian military plane was shot down near Bila Tserkva, 85 kilometers south of Kyiv.
Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack
Check out RFE/RL’s live briefing on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how Kyiv and the West are reacting. The briefing presents the latest developments and analysis, updated throughout the day.
On February 25, Ukraine’s military said it had shot down an Ilyushin Il-76 with paratroopers on board, near Vasylkiv, a city some 50 kilometers south of Kyiv.
The Russian military has not commented on either incident so far, and the reports could not be immediately verified.
The Interfax news agency said Russian forces had taken control of Kyiv’s hydroelectric power plant, but Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the president’s office, said the situation in Kyiv and its outskirts was under control.
“There are cases of sabotage and reconnaissance groups working in the city. Police and self-defense forces are working efficiently against them,” Podolyak said.
U.S. defense officials believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding slower than Moscow had envisioned, though that could change quickly.
British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said fighting in the capital, Kyiv, was so far confined to “very isolated pockets of Russian special forces and paratroopers.”
He said that “the main armored columns approaching Kyiv are still some way off.”
During the three-day Russian invasion, the Ukrainian military said it has so far destroyed 14 aircraft, eight helicopters, 102 tanks, 536 armored vehicles, as well as killing 3,000 military personnel, according to a social media posting early on February 26 by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Russia has not released casualty figures.
Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on February 26 that 198 people have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded in the Russian offensive.
His statement made it unclear whether the casualties included both military and civilians.
The UN refugee agency said on February 26 that over 120,000 Ukrainian refugees have left the country since Russia began its attack on its neighboring country this week.
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements said in an interview on CNN the situation was expected to get worse.
“We now see over 120,000 people that have gone to all of the neighboring countries,” she said. “The reception that they are receiving from local communities, from local authorities, is tremendous. But it’s a dynamic situation. We are really quite devastated, obviously, with what’s to come.”
Most are heading to Poland and Moldova, but also to Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he is convinced that “this war will last” and warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have tough consequences for Europeans.
Macron told farmers at France’s Agricultural Fair in Paris on February 26 that sectors from wine to cereals to exports and energy prices will be affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Western countries have announced a barrage of sanctions on Russia, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology exports. But they have stopped short of forcing it out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments.
The United States imposed sanctions on Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. The European Union and Britain earlier froze any assets Putin and Lavrov held in their territory. Canada took similar steps.
WATCH: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman outlined that the United States wants to provide support to Ukraine “in whatever way is possible under the circumstances.”
Late on February 25, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a memo clearing the way for the United States to expedite more than $500 million in emergency military assistance to the Ukrainian government, though it was not immediately clear how quickly the aid would flow.
The invasion triggered a flurry of credit rating moves on February 25, with S&P lowering Russia’s rating to “junk” status, Moody’s putting it on review for a downgrade to junk, and S&P and Fitch swiftly cutting Ukraine on default worries.
The Polish Soccer Association announced on February 26 that it will not play its World Cup qualifying match on March 24 against Russia due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“No more words, time to act!” said association president Cezary Kulesza on Twitter, saying the move was prompted by the “escalation of the aggression.”
At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a draft Security Council resolution that would have deplored its invasion, while China abstained, which Western countries took as proof of Russia’s isolation. The United Arab Emirates and India also abstained, while the remaining 11 members voted in favor.
A spokesman for Zelenskiy said Ukraine and Russia would consult in coming hours on a time and place for talks.
The Kremlin said earlier it offered to meet in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, after Ukraine expressed a willingness to discuss declaring itself a neutral country, while Ukraine had proposed Warsaw as the venue. That, according to Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov, resulted in a “pause” in contacts.
War Damage In Ukraine, Seen From Above And On The Ground
The latest satellite images taken on the first day of Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine show damage and destruction to Ukrainian airports and military infrastructure inflicted by air strikes or missile attacks.
“Ukraine was and remains ready to talk about a cease-fire and peace,” Zelenskiy’s spokesman, Sergii Nykyforov, said in a Facebook post. “We agreed to the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation.”
But U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Russia’s offer was an attempt to conduct diplomacy “at the barrel of a gun” and Putin’s military must stop bombing Ukraine if it was serious about negotiations.
Earlier on February 25, Putin urged Ukraine’s military to surrender, saying: “We would find it easier to agree with you than with that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have holed up in Kyiv and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage.”
The baseless and outlandish claims were the latest indication that Putin’s aim is to overthrow the democratically elected Zelenskiy and his government.
