Hyderabad: Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of a wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.
Here are the ten key developments to understand the big story:
1. Luxembourg's foreign minister said that the 27-nation European Union is very close to an agreement for asset freeze of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, EU leaders agreed it was too soon to impose a travel ban on Putin and Lavrov because negotiating channels needed to be kept open.
2. The Kremlin says Russia is ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukrainian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send the delegation in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to discuss a non-aligned status for Ukraine. That indicates Zelenskyy would be willing to negotiate dropping his country’s bid to join NATO, as Russia has demanded.
3. Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the madness of this war now.” He said, “we don’t want enmity with the Russian people, quite the contrary, but this wrongdoing cannot go without a clear answer.”
4. Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted “clearly to express his concern about the war".
5. Russian military claims it has taken control of an airport just outside Kyiv, as Kremlin forces bear down on the Ukrainian capital. Taking possession of the airport in Hostomel, which has a long runway allowing the landing of heavy-lift transport planes, would mean Russia can airlift troops directly to Kyiv’s outskirts.
6. EAM of India, S, Jaishankar said he received a call from Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba who shared his assessment of the "current situation". EAM emphasized that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out.
7. In a retaliatory move over UK's ban on Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, President Vladimir Putin imposed a ban on British airlines from landing in Russia or using its airspace.
8. The world has made it clear that military intervention in Ukraine is off the books, so most countries on Friday were throwing more punishments at Moscow from financial to football sanctions anything to force President Vladimir Putin to stop the brutal invasion of Russia's neighbor and unleash a major war in Europe.
READ:Ukraine crisis: Students gripped in fear, hiding in bomb shelters, seek return to safety of homes
