Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital Friday, in what appeared to be an encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country. Pre-dawn explosions rocked Kyiv, and gunfire was reported in parts of the city, while Ukraine’s military said a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen on the capital’s outskirts. Police told people not to exit a central subway station because of gunfire in the area. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the West, amounts to Europe’s largest ground conflict since World War II. It could also portend the emergence of a new “Iron Curtain” between the West and Russia, with global repercussions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for defense assistance and tougher sanctions on Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden was to meet Friday with fellow NATO leaders during a virtual summit. Here are the things to know about the conflict and the security crisis in former Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe: KREMLIN MULLS UKRAINE’S OFFER OF NEUTRALITY The Kremlin said Friday that President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation for talks to discuss Zelensky’s offer to designate Ukraine a non-aligned country. The offer suggests Zelenskyy would be willing to negotiate dropping his country’s bid to join NATO. The Kremlin said Putin expressed his readiness for talks with Ukrainian officials to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who “views the Russian leadership’s action in the crisis situation with respect.” According to the Kremlin, Putin and Xi agreed that the West has imposed “illegitimate” sanctions against Russia “for achieving selfish goals of certain countries.” Before the invasion, the West had rejected Russia’s demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO. Putin used the refusal to justify the invasion, claiming that the West left him no other choice. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Zelenskyy of “simply lying” about the non-alignment offer, saying the president “missed the opportunity” to discuss Ukraine’s neutral status when Putin initially proposed it. CIVILIANS IN HARM’S WAY As they awakened on the second day of Russia’s invasion, horrified civilians found themselves at risk as artillery shells rained down on some residential buildings on Kyiv’s outskirts. Russia has said it is not targeting cities, but the fighting would seem to belie that. The body of a soldier lay on the ground near a Kyiv underpass. Elsewhere, fragments of a downed aircraft lay amid a residential area’s brick homes with black plastic covering body parts found nearby. City residents stood uneasily in doorways of apartment buildings watching armored personnel carriers driving down the streets. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, says its staffers have so far verified at least 127 civilian casualties — 25 killed and 102 injured — mostly from shelling and airstrikes. A spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, Shabia Mantoo, said more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine and that “up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates.” NUCLEAR WAR NIGHTMARE REVISITED Reviving Cold War fears of a nuclear showdown, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned in a speech that he has the weapons available if anyone dares to use military means to try to stop his takeover of Ukraine. Whether an empty threat or not, Putin’s words re-animated the specter […]

The post Ukraine Invasion: What to know as Russian Forces Target Kyiv appeared first on The Yeshiva World.