War in Ukraine: National Guard expects Kiev to be taken over soon - possibly in just a few hours

Created: 02/24/2022, 20:44

By: Klaus-Maria Mehr, Andreas Schmid

An open war is raging in Europe.

The Russian army bombs Ukraine.

Russian troops invade the country.

All news about Putin's invasion of Ukraine here.

• Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun: The Ukraine conflict* has escalated.

• There are reports of deaths, the air raid alarm was triggered in Kiev.

• This

  news ticker on events in Ukraine

  is continuously updated.

  All information on the Ukraine war can be found on our topic page on the Ukraine conflict*.

Ukraine war: Russia is close to Kiev - conquest probably a matter of hours

8:33 p.m .:

Our editors are currently in contact with a Ukrainian whose friends are fighting in the National Guard.

She herself is currently fleeing the city of Kiev in a car.

Because her contacts in the military let her know that she should leave the city within the next hour and a half.

They assume that Kiev is being bombed and will soon be in Russian hands.

It could only be a few hours until then.

Here is the whole on-site report on day 1 of the Ukraine war.*

8.08 p.m .:

The OSCE is evacuating all employees from Ukraine “as quickly as possible”, just announced OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid.

This step had become necessary due to the ongoing fighting and the worsening security situation, Schmid continued in a recent statement.

Ukraine conflict: OSCE announces withdrawal of its staff “as soon as possible”

The withdrawal of the current OSCE mission from Ukraine has historical dimensions.

The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) has peacekeeping in Europe as its primary objective.

The mission in Ukraine monitored the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in all regions of the country.

At the time, all observers saw Russia's approval of the mission as an important step towards detente following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

At the same time, the situation in Ukraine is becoming much more confusing with the OSCE withdrawal.

Until yesterday, the observers had provided credible, impartial reports from the conflict regions.

This is ending now.

War in Ukraine: Putin apparently encircles Kiev

7:55 p.m .:

As Biden speaks to the camera, the Russian offensive in Ukraine continues.

The Ukraine conflict has turned into a Ukraine war today.

How long this lasts is another question entirely.

After the territorial gains of the Russian army reported by both sides, maybe not for so long.

Putin and his army are clearly encircling the Ukrainian capital Kiev from all sides.

Again and again there are reports of areas occupied by Russian ground troops.

Reports of strong or even successful resistance by Ukrainian troops are rather rare.

7:45 p.m.:

Biden is now speaking.

Here in the video.

7:22 p.m

.: Meanwhile, another explosion can be heard in Kiev.

Otherwise, the streets are quiet.

There was also no new bomb alarm in the capital in the evening.

Putin invasion of Ukraine: Russian troops capture Chernobyl

7:01 p.m .:

According to the AFP news agency, Russia has taken control of Chernobyl.

Previously, Ukrainian and Russian units fought each other around the former reactor facility.

Russia controls the exclusion zone and all facilities of the nuclear ruins, says Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

According to Ukraine, Russian troops have now taken control of the Chernobyl disaster reactor (archive image).

Before that there had been fierce fighting.

© Efrem Lukatsky/dpa

6:53 p.m .:

According to information from Moscow, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is continuing.

"The special military operation continues," Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday, according to the Interfax agency in Moscow.

According to him, the separatist fighters from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions advanced six to eight kilometers into Ukrainian territory.

The Russian army helped.

The spokesman confirmed the capture of the important North Crimean canal.

As a result, the waterway was "unblocked" and the water supply to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was restored.

Russian paratroopers were also deployed.

After the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula by Russia in 2014, Ukraine closed the canal, which is important for the water supply.

6:22 p.m .:

In about an hour, US President Joe Biden wants to appear in front of the cameras and describe America’s reactions to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Here you can follow

Earlier, Biden met with the G7 countries to discuss further sanctions.

Putin on Russian TV: "We were given no other choice"

At the same time, Putin steps in front of the camera.

He lets himself be filmed with business people in Moscow.

On the war he provoked in Ukraine, Putin says: Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the attack on Ukraine as an absolutely necessary measure for national defense.

"What is happening here is forced action," Putin said Thursday night at a televised meeting with Russian businessmen in Moscow.

"We were given no other choice."

Kiev/Moscow, February 24, 5:33 p.m.:

The Ukraine conflict escalated on Thursday.

The war has started.

Russia invaded Ukraine.

As reported by the Ukrainian police, the fighting has now spread to almost the entire country.

The Ukraine conflict* also comes into effect in Chernobyl.

Ukraine conflict: fighting with Russian troops near nuclear waste storage facility in Chernobyl

According to the government in Kiev, the fighting in Ukraine is also spreading to the area where the Chernobyl nuclear reactor was destroyed.

A representative of the Interior Ministry in Kiev said there were fighting between Ukrainian and Russian units near the nuclear waste storage facility.

Russian troops entered northern Ukraine from Belarus, and the Ukrainian National Guard soldiers stationed at the nuclear waste disposal site put up "stubborn resistance" to the attack.

"Russian occupying forces are trying to capture the Chernobyl nuclear power plant," Zelenskyy tweeted on Thursday.

"Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 does not repeat itself." The head of state emphasized: "This is a declaration of war against all of Europe." The Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986 is considered the greatest disaster in civilian use of nuclear power.

Hundreds of thousands were forcibly resettled.

At that time Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. 

Ukraine conflict: air alert in Kiev - people should be in air raid shelters

An air alert has been sounded in the Ukrainian capital.

On Thursday afternoon, the administration called on all citizens to get to safety in air raid shelters if possible.

Kiev has about 2.8 million inhabitants, the entire Ukraine 45 million.

In the morning, the air raid sirens could already be heard as a test.

In Ukraine, martial law has been in force nationwide since 5:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. CET) by decree of President Volodymyr Zelenskyj*, initially for 30 days.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko* imposed a curfew.

According to the country's army, there is fierce fighting with Russian troops for a military base near Kiev.

As the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zalushny announced on Facebook, there was fighting over the Hostomel military airport in the north of the capital.

Combat helicopters were also apparently deployed in the area.

In this photo released by the press service of the Police Department of Ukraine, Russian military helicopters appear to be flying over the outskirts of Kiev as smoke billows over houses.

The Ukraine conflict escalates.

© Uncredited/Ukrainian Police Department Press Service via AP/dpa

Ukraine conflict: official reports of deaths

Russian President Vladimir Putin* had ordered the invasion of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions during the night.

At noon, the authorities in Ukraine reported Russian attacks from different directions.

By 12 p.m. (CET), Russia had carried out more than 30 attacks with aircraft, artillery and cruise missiles “on Ukrainian civilian and military infrastructure”, the General Staff said.

There are official reports of deaths on both sides.

At least 18 people died in a rocket attack in the Odessa region.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, "nearly 50 Russian soldiers were killed in the Shchastya area."