Russia’s attack: People in Kiev are supposed to prepare Molotov cocktails for battle

Nfter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the first Russian units have advanced into the capital Kiev. Russian “saboteurs” were staying in the Obolon district of northern Kiev, the agency said on Facebook on Friday. Such information cannot currently be independently verified.

The ministry called on the population to prepare so-called Molotov cocktails for battle and to report sightings of Russian military technology. Residents should not leave their homes. The Ukrainian army warned that Russian units were using partially conquered Ukrainian technology.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian army of targeting civilian areas in its attacks. On Friday night, Zelenskyi announced the general mobilization of all reservists and conscripts. Because of Russia’s “military aggression,” reservists and conscripts from across the country would be called to arms within 90 days, the decree said.

According to him, 137 people were killed and hundreds injured, including numerous civilians, on the first day of the fighting. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, 33 civilian targets have been hit in the past 24 hours. Two children were killed.

Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine on Thursday morning. Rockets and artillery shells fell in several cities. Within a few hours, Russian ground troops had then advanced to the greater Kiev area.

Explosions were reported from the capital on Friday morning, and Ukrainian government officials spoke of Russian rocket attacks. “Terrible Russian rocket attacks on Kiev,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Friday. Ukrainian television reported that after the impact of Russian missiles, an air raid alarm was sounded. The authorities are therefore calling on the population to go to the nearest shelter. According to estimates by the United Nations, 100,000 people are already fleeing.

In a video speech on Friday morning, Zelenskyy praised the Ukrainians for their “heroism” in the face of the Russian advance. Ukrainian armed forces “are doing everything they can” to defend the country, he assured.

Russia must “talk” with Ukraine “sooner or later” to end the fighting, he said. “The sooner this talk starts, the smaller the losses for Russia itself will be,” he added. Zelenskyj also called on the Russian population to protest against the attack on Ukraine.

Thousands of people took to the streets in numerous Russian cities on Thursday against the invasion. According to activists, around 1,700 demonstrators were arrested. Protests against Putin’s attack also took place in other cities around the world, including Berlin, Prague, Rome and Sydney.

Blinken: Russia wants to overthrow Zelenskyy

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to overthrow the Ukrainian government. He is convinced that Putin will try to do this, Blinken said in an interview with the ABC TV station, referring to President Zelenskyy’s government. “We know that part of the Russian plan is to put Kiev at risk, to attack the capital and also to attack other major cities,” Blinken said. “We see troops coming from the north, from the east and from the south,” he said.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price made a similar statement. “President Zelenskyy embodies in many ways the democratic aspirations and aspirations of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told CNN. Therefore, he remains a prime target for the Russians. In this context, Price also pointed out that the US government had been warning for weeks that Russian saboteurs were already in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy himself also commented on possible Russian attack plans aimed at him personally: “According to our information, the enemy has declared me target number 1, my family target number 2,” he said. There are false reports that he left Kiev. “I’m staying in the capital, staying with my people.” But he’s not allowed to say exactly where he’s staying.

At a crisis summit in Brussels, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the other EU heads of state and government sought a strong response to the Russian attack. They agreed on punitive measures with a view to energy, finance and transport. In addition, there should be export controls for certain products and restrictions on issuing visas. Selenskyj was connected to Brussels. According to EU Council President Charles Michel on Friday, the EU wants to impose further sanctions on Moscow.

The United States is also moving 7,000 more soldiers to Europe, who will initially be stationed in Germany and are intended to strengthen the defense of NATO partners.

Russia, on the other hand, wants to expand its economic relations with Asia in order to cushion the consequences of the sanctions imposed by the West, and has also announced its own “retaliatory sanctions”.