Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news

Russian troops landed near Brody. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have retaliated and are pushing back the enemy, According to Lviv mayor Andrii Sadovyi, 60 Russian troops landed at 9:00 AM in three helicopters. “Our military has struck back, and the enemy is falling back in the direction of Leviatyn,” he wrote.

In less than 24 hours Ukrainians have donated 200 million hryvnias from ePidtrymka for army needs - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov

Cyprus will not block the exclusion of the Russian Federation from SWIFT, says the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. Now only two European countries are against it - Germany and Hungary.

Russian sabotage-and-reconnaissance units are attempting to enter Kyiv, according to NSDC Secretary Oleksii Danylov. In his Facebook post, he writes about a flood of messages in WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and Facebook groups in the Kyiv region. The posters are asking how to get to Kyiv, if anyone can give a ride to a family with children to Kyiv, and how to get from Brovary to Boryspil. “All posters have one thing in common: they are all new and joined the groups on February 25, and post mostly in Russian. The people asking for this information are ENEMY AGENTS. Do not provide any information on travel routes, give directions, or identify unblocked and accessible roads,” Danylov wrote.

More lost Russians in Sumy oblast. They do not know why they have been sent to Ukraine or where they are going. What is more, they are simply out of fuel. What is waiting for them further on is either prison or death.

The Netherlands will urgently supply 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, Reuters reports, citing the letter of the Government of the Netherlands to the Parliament.

Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov addressed YouTube so that they block Russian propaganda media, including Rossiya24, TASS and RIA Novosti. Fedorov also addressed to Meta and Netflix and asked to block Facebook, Instagram and Netflix.

In Hostomel, Russian military have got their hands on the uniforms of the National Guard of Ukraine (Olive colour, NGU badges) and prepares to engage in provocations. NGU’s rapid response brigade urges locals to feed as much disinformation to the saboteurs as possible. “Until further notice, we advise to regard all persons wearing olive-green uniforms with NGU badges in the area of Russian presence on the territory of Hostomel  as a potential aggressor,” the message reads.

Kyiv metro went into shelter mode, reports Klychko. There will be no transportation via Metro.

Klychko asks Kyivans to stay at home or in shelters. The city is being defended. "For your safety, most of you should stay home or in shelters! Do not go out and do not go into the city center. Except those of you who work at the critical infrastructure enterprises. Do not leave your home unless you need to go to a shelter. We are defending our city!"

A sabotage and intelligence group of the enemy is constantly working and trying to land on the left bank of the Dnipro river, reports the National Guard. "Ukrainian military units and police control all the bridges between the two banks and will use deadly force  against all the targets trying to cross them in the direction of the right bank! We ask all the civilians to stay safe and not to try to cross the Dnipro river in the direction of the right bank!"

Security Service of Ukraine: Putin’s plans have been thwarted, nobody greets the “Russian liberators” with flowers. “The Ukrainian military and police heroically repel the enemy’s assaults, and civilians are taking up arms en masse and making Molotov cocktails. The Kremlin was caught totally off-guard by our resistance. That is why we see missile attacks on Kyiv for the first time since 1941. This will not be forgiven!”

Head of Regional State Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi: The enemy is currently in the streets of Sumy. Our Territorial Defence Forces are engaged in urban combat. The civilians must stay home, draw the curtains, and keep away from windows. Stay safe!

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine: Today, at 3:50 AM, Ukrainian Air Defence forces shot down a Russian missile flying in the direction of the Kyiv Cistern’s dam located north of Kyiv. Destruction of the dam could result in catastrophic casualties and damage, including the flooding of Kyiv’s residential areas and suburbs, failure of Kanev, Kremenchuk, and other dams of the Dnieper reservoir cascade, and even  prompt a collapse at Zaporizhzhia NPP.

Another video of a Russian missile hitting a residential building on Lobanovsky Street in Kyiv

Video of yet another Russian soldier captured by The Armed Forces of Ukraine. Says he is from the city of Nizhny Novgorod and was told he is going to Ukraine for military exercises

Ukrainan man taking down Russian flag in the town of Chaplynka, Kherson region

MFA minister Kuleba reacted to the Russian missile strike: “Kyiv, our beautiful and peaceful city, has survived one more night under the attack of Russian soldiers and missiles. One of them struck an apartment complex in Kyiv. I demand that the world fully isolates Russia. Kick out the ambassadors. Impose an oil embargo. Destroy the Russian economy. Stop the military criminals from the Russian Federation!”

Zelenskyy after speaking with the President of the European Council Charles Michel: “Now is the deciding moment when it is finally time to end the years-long discussion and make a decision on Ukraine’s EU membership”.

Another video of the moment Russian missles hit an apartment building in Kyiv this morning

Updated info from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine: The structure of the building has been damaged on floors 17-21. On floors 21-24 no casualties are found. There is a danger of further structural damage. A rescue search is being carried out. The fire was liquidated at 9:05. The personnel of SESU is periodically forced to wait out the attacks in a shelter. The information about casualties is still being gathered.

One of the inhabitants of the building on Lobanovskogo street: “We managed to survive, we were in the kitchen and the missile struck the living room. My wife and the older son have broken legs, my younger son is being taken care of by the rescue service. Burn in hell, Russian f*ggots!”

Video by State Emergency Service of Ukraine

There are no Russian forces in Kyiv, says city the mayor of the city Klitschko. The enemy is attempting to attack the capital from Hostomel and Zhytomyr directions. There is information about diversionists in Kyiv, in a fight with whom 35 people were wounded, including two children. Mayor has called upon citizens to stay in the shelters as the enemy is expected to carry out attacks from the air.

Video from the neighboring apartment’s security camera in a building struck by a missile on Lobanovskogo street in Kyiv

Ukrainian flag is flying over Kherson, says mayor Ihor Kolykhaiev. According to him, “the city is working and living”. The government is working to restore the supply of groceries, the supply of water is stable.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the missile struck floors 17 and 18 of the building. As of now, no casualties are recorded. The building is being evacuated.

An apartment complex on Lobanovskogo street, 6a, has been struck by a missile, said mayor Vitalii Klytschko. The emergency services are headed to the location.

Zelenskyy has talked to Macron this morning. According to him, Ukraine is expecting a delivery of weapons and equipment from the partners.

Our correspondent Bohdan Zayika is currently monitoring the situation near the Beresteiska metro station, where a brigade of Ukrainian forces has destroyed a Russian convoy this night. According to him, the military has shut down Peremohy avenue. Pedestrians and drivers are advised to take detours.

Subway stations that belong to the red line are working only in shelter mode, says the Kyiv government. The trains between the stations are not operating. Blue and green lines are operating as usual. In case of emergency, the station personnel is equipped to shut down the hermetic doors.

The air-raid alert in Kyiv - Kyiv City State Administration

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a statement: I’m here, we will not put our weapons down. We will protect our state because we have got a weapon – the truth about this being our land, our country, and our children. We will protect all of them. Glory to Ukraine!

Facebook has prohibited Russian state media from running ads and monetizing, said the company's Head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher on Twitter. The platform will continue labeling the Russian government-owned media.

We realized that this night would be tough, and the Russian Federation would draw on all its resources and reserves—and it did—to inflict as much damage as possible to as many Ukrainian cities as it could. However, it has achieved nothing: the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine are in complete control of the situation across our country’s entire territory.
In short:
- In the South, fierce fights continue in Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa, the Russian Federation’s priority vector of offensive. They planned to get a foothold there, but there is no evidence of even potential success. And we won’t let them.
- As it became apparent today, Kyiv is Russia’s No. 1 priority, and the key objective of the military operation announced by the Russian Federation is to destroy Ukraine’s political and military leadership. To this end, the Russian Federation attempted to concentrate as much military hardware and troops as possible here. As of now, however, we are in control of the situation both in the city and in its suburbs. A few sabotage-and-reconnaissance units are still active in the city, but the National Police and the Territorial Defence Force effectively counter their efforts. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their efforts in the outskirts of Kyiv.
- In the North, battles rage on around Mariupol, but there is no chance of the city falling into Russia’s hands or being conquered by the Russian forces at the moment.
- Air raid sirens sounded in Ukrainian cities throughout the night as the Russian Federation used regular and rocket artillery as well as aircraft to directly attack them. Still, as of 7:00 AM on February 26, Russian forces had no tactical or operational advantage despite all the resources and reserves it involved in military action, meaning that Ukraine has not only endured the Russian offensive but has turned the tables. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Police, and Territorial Defence Force actively put resistance—people know how to defend their country.
- The President of Ukraine is still here and hard at work. Today, like yesterday and the day before, he will have numerous negotiations with our Western partners to assemble an anti-Russia coalition ASAP. The government is busy tackling situational economic problems. The country is still governed and under control—it is essential to keep this in mind since we are under a barrage of fake news aiming to stir fear, disbelief, and panic.

General Staff: The estimated losses of the enemy are: aircraft - 14 units, helicopters - 8 units, tanks - 102 units, armoured fighting vehicles - 536 units, guns - 15 units, SAM BUK - 1 unit.

The minister of European Integration, Iryna Vereshchuk has informed that today Ukraine will receive air defense assistance from our partners.

The latest update as of 06:00 am, February, 26, 2022, on the Russian invasion.

The Russian invaders continue the offensive operation against Ukraine.

They begin relocating their reserve units at the Ukrainian pre-border areas and continue conducting air strikes on the airfields, the grouped troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the East of the country, and on the Northern part of Kyiv region. There were single air strikes in the areas of SUMY, POLTAVA, and MARIUPOL. From the Black Sea, the Enemy has launched sea-based cruise missiles "Kalibr" at the territory of Ukraine.

The actions of the tactical air forces of the Russian Federation were controlled from the territory of Belarus and the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Crimea. There are battalion tactical groups of the 35th All-Military Army of the Eastern Command in the area of MOZYR that can be used to attack objects located in the territory of Ukraine.

The temporal location of dozens of tank units in the area of SHUMSKE and multiple rocket launchers BM-21 "Grad" in the area of KOSIVSHCHYNA was established.

The enemy has repeatedly used operational and tactical aircraft in the areas of YUZHNY and ODESSA, at OZERNE airfield, at civilian infrastructure objects in the Kyiv region.

In the Slobozhansky direction, the operative group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stopped the enemy's offensive. It continues conducting defensive battles in the Kharkiv region. The urban warfare battles are being fought in Okhtyrka.

In the coastal direction in the area of KOBLEVO, as a result of the 28th Mechanised Brigade units' fire, a boat and up to 20 personnel of the enemy's sabotage intelligence group were destroyed.
The engineering barriers group of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine mined the sites of the airborne-accessible areas.

The Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is repelling hostile air strikes. The enemy's IL-76 military aircraft with the airborne troops of the Russian occupational forces on board has been destroyed. The conduction of the systematic combat actions is underway. The Inflicting of fire damage on the enemy's accumulated manpower and military equipment in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions is underway.
The joint forces are conducting a defensive operation and holding positions along the entire line of demarcation.

General Staff: The estimated losses of the enemy are: aircraft - 14 units, helicopters - 8 units, tanks - 102 units, armoured fighting vehicles - 536 units, guns - 15 units, SAM BUK - 1 unit.

President Biden entrusted to allot Ukraine additionally 600 million dollars, 350 of which are for military purposes.

Professor Zubov who had been repressed by the Russian regime called Putin to admit the defeat and get out of Ukraine.

It seems that Russia is conducting aviational and missile bombardments throughout the country. The Ukrainian air defense is working intensively in all directions.

The State Special Communication Service of Ukraine: The air-raid alert in Kherson.

The State Special Communication Service of Ukraine: The air-raid alert in Cherkasy.

A Ukrainian border ship was attacked in the Black Sea by the Russian drone. The crew called the Air Force for help. The drone was shot down upon approaching Chernomorsk. Full information in English below

The State Special Communication Service of Ukraine: The air-raid alert in Uman.

The State Special Communication Service of Ukraine: The air-raid alert in Lviv and Rivne.

Ukrainian warriors currently had a lack of sleep. Two-three hours at the very best. There are Ukrainian border guards in the photo. It is not possible for them to take off their uniform.

The State Special Communication Service of Ukraine: The air-raid alert in Lutsk.

Brigade 101 of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a convoy of Russian vehicles near the Beresteiska Metro Station: two passenger vehicles, two trucks with ammunition load, and one tank have been burnt. “Things are quiet now, all enemies put to rest”, report the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The American singer Madonna supported Ukraine. She published a video on her page in Instagram where the Russian president Vladimir Putin had been compared with Adolf Hitler.
"Putin had Violated Every Human Rights Accord in Existence. Putin has no right to try to erase the existence of the Ukraine. We are praying for you and your country!"

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Details from Vasilkyv, town near Kyiv where airfield is located. Journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk reports that some of the personnel of the destroyed Russian military air-assault plane IL-76 have survived. Four of them were taken captive by the Ukrainian military and about 10 air-assault force members are currently surrounded but returning fire. They have been presented with an ultimatum: put the weapons down and their lives would be spared. The airfield itself is “under solid firearm defense”. “No one shall land here without a permission”, noted the journalist.