Kremlin asks Ukrainian military to seize power and make peace : ‘Burn in hell, Putin’

Moscow claimed to have captured the Hostomel airfield northwest of the capital, a vital staging post for a planned assault on Kyiv

Air raid sirens wailed over the capital of three million people, where some residents sheltered in underground Metro stations, a day after Putin launched an invasion.: Twitter/@paul9433

Reuters, NYTNS   |   Kyiv   |   26.02.22  :  Russian missiles pounded Kyiv on Friday, families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents of the Ukrainian capital to prepare petrol bombs to defend against Russian forces who had entered a northern district of the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian military to seize power and make peace.

Moscow claimed to have captured the Hostomel airfield northwest of the capital, a vital staging post for a planned assault on Kyiv (spelt Kiev in Russia), which has been fought over since the first hours of the war. This could not immediately be confirmed and the Ukrainian authorities reported heavy fighting there.

Air raid sirens wailed over the capital of three million people, where some residents sheltered in underground Metro stations, a day after Putin launched an invasion.

Windows were blasted out of a 10-storey apartment block near Kyiv’s main airport. A two-metre crater showed where a shell had struck before dawn.

“How we can live through it in our time?... Putin should burn in hell along with his whole family,” said Oxana Gulenko, sweeping broken glass from her room.

Britain’s defence ministry said in an intelligence update that Russian armoured forces had opened a new route of advance towards the capital after failing to take Chernihiv, and most troops remained more than 50km from Kyiv’s city centre.

Ukraine said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far. Russia did not release casualty figures. The UN said 25 civilians had been killed and 102 wounded, figures that were likely to be a “significant under-estimate”. None of the tolls could be independently verified.

Putin said at a televised meeting with Russia’s Security Council on Friday: “I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields. Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement.”

 Putin says he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders, alluding to Ukrainian far-Right nationalists who collaborated with Nazi invaders in World War Two to fight Soviet Russia. But it is not clear how a pro-Russian leader could be installed unless Russian troops control much of the country.

Hundreds of people were crowded into a cramped bomb shelter beneath a building after a televised warning of air strikes.

“How can you wage a war against peaceful people?” said Viktoria, 35, as her kids of 5 and 7 slept in their winter coats.

 Alla, 40, said: “The kids were scared, they were crying and asking ‘Mom, will we all die?’”

Kyiv’s mayor, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitchko, said the city had gone into a defensive phase. “Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighbourhoods. Saboteurs have already entered Kyiv,” Klitchko said. “The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us.”

Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people.

President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that there had been heavy fighting with people killed at the entrance to the eastern cities of Chernihiv and Melitopol, as well as at Hostomel.

Talks signal & pause

 Russian officials signalled an openness to talks, but President Putin derided the Ukrainian government and it was unclear under what conditions the Kremlin would consider negotiations.

Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and described Zelensky’s government as “a band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”. The brutal language suggested he was not seriously planning to engage Zelensky in peace talks.

The Kremlin said it had offered talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk, but that Ukraine had proposed Warsaw instead and there was now a “pause” in contact.

The offer came after Putin spoke with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. The spokesman said that the Russian offer came on the heels of a comment by Zelensky that he was ready to discuss “neutral status” for Ukraine.

Ukrainians were circulating an unverified recording on Friday of a Russian warship ordering a Ukrainian Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.” Zelensky said the 13 guards were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours.

US officials believe Russia’s initial aim is to topple Zelensky and “decapitate” his government. Zelensky said he knew he was “the number one target” but would stay in Kyiv.

Putin on ban list

The European Union has agreed to place Putin and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on its list of sanctioned individuals following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday.