Ukraine

MEDYKA, Poland (AP) — Dragging suitcases and carrying children, tens of thousands of Ukrainians rushed to the borders Saturday as invading Russian troops pressed on with their march toward Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Street fighting broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city and Russian troops squeezed strategic ports in the country’s south Sunday, advances that appeared to mark a new phase of Russia’s invasion following a wave of attacks on airfields and fuel facilities elsewhere in the country.

Kyiv, Feb 26 (AP) Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital early Saturday, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter. The country's president refused an American offer to evacuate, insisting that he would stay. The fight is here, he said.

The clashes followed two days of fighting that resulted in hundreds of casualties and pummeled bridges, schools and apartment buildings. US officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to overthrow Ukraine's government and replace it with a regime of his own.

Kyiv, Feb 26 (AP) Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to stand firm against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: The fight is here.

Feb 25 (Reuters) - The mayor of Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said on Friday five blasts were heard in a close interval of three to five minutes near a power station in the north of the city.

"The emergency services are underway. We're finding out the details," he said.

He added that bridges in the city had been taken under protection and special control, as Russian troops are nearing, while checkpoints are being installed near strategic city objects.

KIEV, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday reiterated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold talks to stop conflict.

"Fighting is going on all over Ukraine. Let's sit down at the negotiating table," Zelensky was quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency as saying.

Putin said Moscow is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency tweeted on Friday.

On Thursday, Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Associated Press journalists around Ukraine and beyond are documenting military activity during Russia’s invasion. With disinformation rife and social media amplifying military claims and counter-claims, determining exactly what is happening is difficult. Here’s a look at what could be confirmed Friday.

Activity with direct witnesses:

-- Explosions heard from central Kyiv, about 800 meters (half a mile) from the president’s headquarters.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — 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 wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.

25 Feb 2022; MEMO: An image of Israel's military assault on Gaza from the May 2021 eleven-day onslaught is being widely shared on social media and western media agencies claiming to show the brutal devastation of a Russian air raid on Ukraine.

Kyiv, Feb 25 (AP) Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order.