War in Ukraine – UPDATE
Authorities publish preliminary death toll, Zelensky addresses nation again, refugees wave increases
Vlad Palcu, 26.02.2022, 12:10
Raid
sirens went off in Kyiv at noon on Saturday as the capital-city is bracing of a
possible new air assault. Local footage depicts people still taking up shelter in
the subway or in their bathrooms, after an apartment building was damaged on
Saturday. Shelling continued for most of the morning in both Kyiv and in the
Kherson outskirts, north of the Crimean Peninsula. Nearly 200 Ukrainian
civilians have been killed so far in fighting on Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s
Health Minister, Viktor Lyashko told the press.
Ukraine’s
president, Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted saying it is a crucial moment to close
the long-standing discussion once and for all and decide on Ukraine’s
membership in the #EU. In the early hours of Saturday morning, the president took
to social media to disprove fake news circulating on the web regarding a
purported surrender of Kyiv.
I
am here. We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country,
because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our
country, our children, and we will defend all of this, president Zelensky said
in a video.
Earlier
on Saturday, the British armed forces minister, James Heappey said Russia has
so far failed to capture any of its target at the end of the first two days of
military operations. Even Melitopol, which the Russians are claiming to have
taken but we can’t see anything to substantiate that, are all still in
Ukrainian hands, minister Heappey told BBC radio.
In
Romania, the authorities are coordinating with civil society to accommodate and
provide assistance to refugees coming in from Ukraine. Over 20,000 people have reportedly
crossed into Romania since the beginning of the conflict.
