By Marta Shokalo Editor BBC Ukrainian Service, Kyiv Ukraine crisis I was awake at night when I got a message from a colleague about Vladimir Putin’s speech announcing an invasion. Then immediately the explosions began. I could hear them from my home, and people in different parts of the city started sending messages to our […]
Ukraine crisis Ukraine’s neighbours are preparing for an influx of refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of the country. As Russian air strikes hit overnight, many packed up and left Kyiv for the countryside or the border with the European Union. Traffic jams clogged the roads out of some cities, and some walked on foot into […]
Ukraine escalation Ukraine has urged its citizens living in Russia to leave the country immediately amid growing fears of war. In addition to the order affecting more than three million people, Ukraine mobilised its military reserves and was set to declare a state of emergency. Ukraine’s moves came as Russian troops, ordered into two […]
Ukraine escalation Germany has put a stop to a key Russian gas pipeline following Vladimir Putin’s orders to send troops into Ukraine. On Monday the Russian president recognised two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent states and ordered Russian troops to deploy to both. Western nations largely see the action as a pretext for a […]
Ukraine escalation US President Joe Biden has agreed “in principle” to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis over Ukraine. The talks proposed by France will only take place if Russia does not invade its neighbour, the White House said. The Kremlin, meanwhile, said there were no “concrete plans” […]
By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent Ukraine escalation The optics look dreadful. Russia has deployed more than two-thirds of its military combat capability to within striking distance of Ukraine’s borders. Its 30,000 troops that were supposed to withdraw from neighbouring Belarus at the weekend are still there. So are pontoon bridges and other logistic equipment […]
Ukraine conflict Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ally Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko have extended military drills which were due to end on Sunday. A statement cited the “deterioration of the situation” in east Ukraine as one reason for keeping an estimated 30,000 Russian troops in Belarus. The move will add to fears that […]
Ukraine escalation Ukraine’s Russian-backed breakaway eastern territories have ordered military mobilisations amid a deadly escalation in fighting. Men of fighting age in the self-declared people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are being put on stand-by. US President Joe Biden says he is convinced Russia will invade Ukraine, an allegation Moscow denies. Western nations have accused […]
Italian and Greek boats rushed to evacuate 290 people on board a ferry that burst into flames near Corfu in the Ionian Sea early on Friday. The Greek coastguard said later that 11 people were missing and rescuers were trying to reach two people trapped on the Euroferry Olympia. The ferry had left Igoumenitsa in […]
By Fergal Keane BBC News, Northern Ukraine Ukraine escalation The Ukrainian border guards scan the snowy forest for any sign of Russian movement. They stand guard at the Senkivka crossing, where the Kremlin once celebrated the unity of the Soviet world. A few truck drivers heading south to the capital, Kyiv, cluster near the […]
