MOSCOW: Russian forces captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol on Saturday, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, as Moscow launched coordinated cruise missile and artillery strikes on several cities, including the capital Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials were not immediately available for comment on the fate of Melitopol, a city of about 150,000 people. If the Interfax report citing the Russian defence ministry is confirmed, it would be the first significant population centre the Russians have seized since their invasion began on Thursday.
Earlier, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces fired cruise missiles from the Black Sea at Mariupol, also in the southeast, as well as Sumy in the northeast and Poltava in the east.
Kyiv authorities said a missile hit a residential building, and a Reuters witness said another hit an area near the airport. There was no immediate word on casualties. Gunfire erupted near city-centre government buildings at around dawn, a Reuters witness said. The cause was not clear.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in a video message from outside his Kyiv office, was defiant.
"We will not put down weapons, we will defend our state," he said.
After weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded from the north, east and south, an attack that threatens to upend Europe's post-Cold War order.
Putin said he had to eliminate what he called a serious threat to his country from its smaller neighbour and he cited the need to "denazify" Ukraine's leadership, accusing it of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss the accusations as baseless propaganda.
In a televised meeting with Russia's Security Council on Friday, Putin appealed to Ukraine's military to overthrow their "neo-Nazi" leaders.
"Take power into your own hands," he said.
'UNDER CONTROL'
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.
At the United Nations, Russia vetoed a draft Security Council resolution deploring 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 favour.
The White House asked Congress for $6.4 billion in security and humanitarian aid for the crisis, officials said, and Biden instructed the U.S. State Department to release $350 million in military aid. Read full story
Russia's defence ministry said their forces used air- and ship-based cruise missiles to carry out overnight strikes on military targets in Ukraine, Interfax said.
It said Russian troops had hit hundreds of military infrastructure targets and destroyed several aircraft and dozens of tanks and armoured and artillery vehicles.
Ukraine's air force command earlier said one of its fighters had shot down a Russian transport plane. Reuters could not independently verify the claim.
Mykhailo Podolyak, 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-defence forces are working efficiently against them," Podolyak said.
Ukrainian authorities have urged citizens to help defend Kyiv from the advancing Russians. Some families took cover in shelters and hundreds of thousands have left their homes to find safety, according to a U.N. aid official.
Ukraine said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. Russia did not release casualty figures. Zelenskiy said late on Thursday that 137 soldiers and civilians been killed with hundreds wounded.
Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and Kyiv hopes to join NATO and the EU - aspirations that infuriate Moscow.
Putin says Ukraine, a democratic nation of 44 million people, is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history.
'READY TO TALK'
The United States imposed sanctions on Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence 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.
The invasion triggered a flurry of credit rating moves on Friday, 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 cutting Ukraine on default worries.
But even as the fighting grew more intense, the Russian and Ukrainian governments signalled an openness to negotiations, offering the first glimmer of hope for diplomacy since Putin launched the invasion.
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.
"Ukraine was and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace," Zelenskiy 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.
READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine crisis: What led to the attacks and the latest developments
Reuters
Sat Feb 26 2022
![Russian forces capture Ukrainian city, Interfax reports, amid missile strikes Russian forces capture Ukrainian city, Interfax reports, amid missile strikes](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-02/81645865827_kiev.jpg)
A view shows an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine February 26, 2022. - REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).
![Perang tidak selesaikan masalah, kata Narendra Modi kepada Vladimir Putin Perang tidak selesaikan masalah, kata Narendra Modi kepada Vladimir Putin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71720561855_VladimirPutinNare.jpg)
Perang tidak selesaikan masalah, kata Narendra Modi kepada Vladimir Putin
"Di tengah-tengah senjata, peluru dan bom, rundingan damai tidak boleh berjaya. Kita harus mencari jalan untuk damai hanya melalui perbincangan."
![Presiden Korea Selatan bincang hubungan Korea Utara-Rusia di sidang kemuncak NATO Presiden Korea Selatan bincang hubungan Korea Utara-Rusia di sidang kemuncak NATO](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/41717061182_YoonSukYeol.jpg)
Presiden Korea Selatan bincang hubungan Korea Utara-Rusia di sidang kemuncak NATO
Presiden Korea Selatan Yoon Suk Yeol akan melawat Amerika Syarikat (AS) pada Isnin untuk menghadiri sidang kemuncak NATO di Washington.
![Pemimpin Korea Utara lawat Rusia 'apabila semua syarat dipenuhi' - Moscow Pemimpin Korea Utara lawat Rusia 'apabila semua syarat dipenuhi' - Moscow](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/61719295987_tbNorthKorea.jpg)
Pemimpin Korea Utara lawat Rusia 'apabila semua syarat dipenuhi' - Moscow
Lawatan Pemimpin Korea Utara Kim Jong Un ke Rusia akan berlangsung apabila "semua syarat yang diperlukan dipenuhi".
![Putin ucap terima kasih kepada Kim Jong Un atas sambutan mesra Putin ucap terima kasih kepada Kim Jong Un atas sambutan mesra](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/81717643773_VladimirPutin.jpg)
Putin ucap terima kasih kepada Kim Jong Un atas sambutan mesra
Vladimir Putin menerusi kiriman Telegram kepada pemimpin Korea Utara Kim Jong Un, menzahirkan penghargaan atas sambutan dan layanan mesra yang diterima semasa lawatannya ke negara itu baru-baru ini.
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/71709993909_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
!['Korea Selatan, jangan bekalkan senjata kepada Ukraine' - Putin 'Korea Selatan, jangan bekalkan senjata kepada Ukraine' - Putin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-01/51706333140_KimJongUn.jpg)
'Korea Selatan, jangan bekalkan senjata kepada Ukraine' - Putin
Kata Putin, Moscow akan bertindak balas terhadap perkara itu dengan cara yang lebih besar terhadap Seoul.
![Putin datang bawa kereta mewah, Kim Jong Un senyum dapat hadiah Putin datang bawa kereta mewah, Kim Jong Un senyum dapat hadiah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/81718865599_tbNorthKorea.jpg)
Putin datang bawa kereta mewah, Kim Jong Un senyum dapat hadiah
Presiden Rusia, Vladimir Putin, menyampaikan hadiah limosin Aurus, kepada rakan sejawatan di Korea Utara, Kim Jong Un, dalam lawatannya ke Pyongyang pada Rabu.
![Zelensky tiba di Singapura untuk Dialog Shangri-La Zelensky tiba di Singapura untuk Dialog Shangri-La](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/71717249819_VolodymyrZelenskiy.jpg)
Zelensky tiba di Singapura untuk Dialog Shangri-La
Zelensky dijangka meminta para hadirin untuk menghadiri dan menyokong sidang kemuncak keamanan di Switzerland bulan ini.
![Putin puji hubungan Rusia dengan Iran Putin puji hubungan Rusia dengan Iran](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/71711236273_tbVladimirPutin.jpg)
Putin puji hubungan Rusia dengan Iran
Putin juga memberi jaminan akan memastikan hubungan baik dengan republik itu berterusan.
![Xi, Putin hadir rasmikan Tahun Budaya China-Rusia Xi, Putin hadir rasmikan Tahun Budaya China-Rusia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/81715926087_ChinaRussiarelatio.jpg)
Xi, Putin hadir rasmikan Tahun Budaya China-Rusia
Xi berkata hubungan China-Rusia dalam tiga perempat abad lalu memperlihatkan pengukuhan dan pengembangan persahabatan sesama jiran.