Ukraine war day three: Kyiv under curfew as Russia continues advance to the capital
Day three of the Russian invasion of Ukraine marks another day of upsetting scenes for many across the world.
After a night of gunfire and explosion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a self-shot video walking around the streets of the capital.
As it stands this evening, Ukrainian forces remain in control of the capital city Kyiv, whilst officials in the eastern city of Kharkiv have said they successfully fought off Russian attacks.
The Kremlin claimed it captured the city of Melitopol, however UK military officials continue to dispute this fact.
Whilst Ukrainian resistance remains strong, shocking video footage showed an apartment block in Kyiv being hit by a missile earlier today.
It is understood that two people have died as a result, with severe damage to the building and surrounding area.
The capital’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a new curfew for the city between 17:00 and 08:00 local time, which started this evening.
Anyone that breaks this curfew will be deemed “enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups”, according to his announcement on Twitter.
The latest United Nation figures suggest that more than 115,000 people have fled the country into neighbouring Poland since Thursday.
International reaction
UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey announced this morning that the UK and 25 other countries, including the US and Canada, have agreed expansive “humanitarian aid or lethal aid” to Ukraine.
The Royal Family broke its mantra of ‘no politics’ this afternoon, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
“Today we stand with the president and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future”, they tweeted.
Solidarity has also been shown on the streets of the UK, with protests against the invasion outside the Russian Embassy in London.
This evening, Germany joined its Western allies and approved the delivery of weaponry from the Netherlands to Ukraine, confirming a shift in policy after heavy criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv.
Meanwhile in the world of sport, Poland pulled out of its 2022 World Cup play-off game with Russia next month, following the recent Champions League snub and Russian Grand Prix cancellation.
However, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister urged allies to go further, calling on the world to stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “I demand the world: fully isolate Russia, expel ambassadors, oil embargo, ruin its economy. Stop Russian war criminals!”
President Zelensky later called on ‘friends’ from abroad to help fend off the Russian invasion of the capital.
He said in a powerful address this afternoon: “Everyone who can defend Ukraine abroad please do it directly in a united way.
“Every friend of Ukraine who wants to join Ukraine in defending the country please come over, we will give you weapons.”
Social media and the press
The Kremlin has blocked Twitter usage across Russia following clashes over “censorship”, with Facebook likely to face the same fate in the coming days.
Twitter’s support account tweeted that it was aware it was being “restricted”, and was trying to restore access in the country.
Whilst Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor made no official statement acknowledging that it had blocked the social media giant, users and internet connectivity watchers have noted significant curbs over the past few days.
On top of this, Roskomnadzor has accused Facebook of violating “the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens”, following the flood of comments, videos and images that are being shared across the network.
The Russian regulator had demanded that Facebook lift its restrictions on its state news agency RIA, state TV channel Zvezda, and pro-Kremlin news sites Lenta.Ru and Gazeta.Ru.
Meta-owned Facebook said it had refused to stop fact-checking and labelling content from state-owned news organisations.
Russia’s RIA news agency suggested that Russian lawmakers would be reviewing the compliance of foreign IT and social media firms next week, suggesting a further clampdown on big tech in the country.
Deputy Andrei Klimov also stated that Russia should retaliate against countries that block the Russian media.
Meanwhile, the official website of the Kremlin, the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was down this afternoon.