War in Ukraine – UPDATE
Hungary joins international move to exclude Russia from SWIFT, Romanian embassy in Kyiv closes
Vlad Palcu, 26.02.2022, 15:35
The Russian state media TASS and
RIA Novosti cited the Russian Ministry of Defense denying reports of one its missiles
having hit a residential building Kyiv, claiming the building was struck by Ukrainian
anti-aircraft missiles. The information disseminated on social networks about
a Russian missile attack on a residential building on Lobanovsky Avenue in Kyiv
is not true, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Mayor of Kyiv has announced a
curfew will be in place between 5 PM and 8 AM. Anyone found outside between
these hours will be considered a member of sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
In the occupied region of
Donetsk, the Russian military is distributing gas masks to troops and local
militias, Ukraine’s Security Service claims. The agency says there is a risk of
provocation by blowing up industrial chemical tanks.
Meanwhile, Hungary decided to
rally the international effort to exclude Russia from the SWIFT system of international
payments, after originally opposing this decision.
In Romania, the Romanian Foreign
Ministry has announced it has shut down its embassy in Kyiv and has successfully
brought home all embassy staff.
The Government announced it has
shut down its air space to all Russian aircraft, a measure that has already implemented
in multiple EU states. At the end of a new meeting of the special task force
overseeing developments in Ukraine, the Romanian authorities also decided to
withdraw from the International Investment Bank (IIB), where the Russian
Federation is the main shareholder.
