Russia extends its attack to the outskirts of Kyiv.
Russia pushed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of Kyiv on Friday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases also sending troops and tanks in from three directions in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order.
Before dawn, explanations rang out in Kyiv as Western leaders convened for an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international assistance. The nature of the bursts was not immediately explicit. Still, they occurred amid signs that Kyiv, Ukraine's capital and largest city, was becoming increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that killed more than 100 Ukrainians.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had data that "subversive groups" were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted Kyiv "could well be under siege" in what US officials believe is a bold attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to destabilize the government and install his regime.
According to a person tight with the call, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call Thursday evening that Russian mechanized forces entering Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv.
The assault, which has been anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies and is being carried out in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to Europe's largest ground war since World War II.
On the first day of the attack, Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases. Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. As explosions rang out in Kyiv, civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, and hotel guests were directed to a shelter.
"Russia has chosen an evil path, but Ukraine is defending itself and will not give up its freedom," Zelenskyy tweeted. With his grip on power becoming increasingly tenuous, he called on Thursday for even harsher sanctions than those imposed by Western allies, as well as a total military mobilization lasting 90 days.