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 Ukraine: Explosions shake Kyiv — live updates

Russia is continuing its assault on Kyiv following a full-scale invasion. Local officials say Ukrainian forces have downed enemy aircraft. Follow DW for the latest.

Last updated at 05:32 UTC

You can watch DW's live coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in this article or on YouTube

Catch up on how events unfolded with Thursday's live coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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DW correspondent: 'Kyiv is definitely the main target'

DW correspondent Mathias Bölinger, who is in Kyiv, spoke of "several air raids" in the night, with missiles landing on the city and planes flying over.

"We have seen burning parts of missiles or planes ... falling down on residential buildings; residential buildings have been on fire," he said, adding that there had been some civilian victims.

He said that although Ukraine had been "holding its defense quite well until now," Russian troops had made incursions into Ukrainian territory in many places.

"They are advancing from several directions, and Kyiv is definitely the main target," he said.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv had suffered "horrific" Russian airstrikes

Ukraine's central bank bans payments to Russia, Belarus

The National Bank of Ukraine has banned payments to entities located in Russia and Belarus, the regulator said on Friday.

It has also banned operations involving Russian and Belarusian rubles.

Ukraine foreign minister: 'Horrific' airstrikes on Kyiv

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv had suffered "horrific" Russian airstrikes. He went on to compare the attacks by Russian forces with World War II.

"Last time our capital experienced anHthing like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one," Kuleba said in a tweet.

Kuleba urged countries to adopt tough sanctions against Russia and to "several all ties" and "kick Russia out of everywhere."

"Stop Putin. Isolate Russia," he wrote.

Attack on Zaporizhzhia border post

Authorities said intense fighting was underway on Friday morning in the city of Sumy in the country's northeast. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine's border guard service said that a border post in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region had been hit by a missile strike at 4.25 am local time (0225 GMT). Zaporizhzhia borders the Donetsk region to the east.

The service said that the attack had caused casualties.

Explosions heard in Kyiv

The sound of explosions echoed through central Kyiv as Russian missiles fell on the Ukrainian capital early on Friday, news agencies have reported.

"Attacks on Kyiv with cruise and ballistic missiles have just resumed. I heard two powerful explosions," Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Herashchenko said on Telegram.

He added that Ukrainian forces had downed an enemy aircraft over the capital in the early hours of Friday, which then crashed into a residential building and set it on fire.

Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said three people were injured, one being in critical condition after missile debris hit a residential building.

He tweeted a photo showing a building with part of its wall torn down and firefighters present at the scene.

China to evacuate citizens

The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine said on Friday that it is arranging flights to evacuate its citizens.

The embassy released a statement saying the situation in Ukraine has "deteriorated sharply'' but did not make any mention of the Russian invasion.

The statement did not provide any further details on the time and location for the departure of these flights.

The embassy urged people to be packed and ready to leave quickly once flight schedules were announced.

Macron speaks after phone call with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking a return to the age of empires and confrontations, French President Emmanuel Macron said after speaking to Putin on the phone.

Macron said he had called his Russian counterpart on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request. Zelenskyy said he tried to call Putin but failed to reach him.

Macron added that EU sanctions will be followed by French sanctions against Russia. He said that Europe is not just a "market of consumers," but must be a power with "energy and defense sovereignty."

The French president announced €300 million ($336 million) of aid to Ukraine, as well as military equipment.

Macron accused Putin of "duplicity" in earlier talks between the two leaders.

"Yes, there was duplicity, yes there was a deliberate, conscious choice to launch war when we could still negotiate peace," Macron said.

Nonetheless, Macron said that it is useful to "leave a path open" for dialogue with Putin.

Von der Leyen announces details of Russia sanctions

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said sanctions agreed at an emergency EU summit would target 70% of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies, including in defense.

An export ban would "hit the oil sector by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries," von der Leyen said. The EU was also banning the sale of aircraft and equipment to Russian airlines, she added.

Visa restrictions will see diplomats and business people no longer having privileged access to the European Union.

The invasion of Ukraine marked the start of a "new era," she said. "Putin is trying to subjugate a friendly European country. He is trying to redraw the map of Europe. He must and he will fail."

UN Security Council to vote on condemning Russia

The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a resolution that would condemn Russia's military attack on Ukraine.

It would also demand an immediate halt to the aggression and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

Russia is a permanent member of the security council and thus will be able to veto the vote.

Although Russia is expected to veto the resolution, a senior US administration said that the council is a "critical venue in which Russia must be force to explain itself."

A similar resolution condemning Crimea's independence referendum was vetoed by Russia in 2014. 13 countries voted in favor, and China abstained.

Ukraine orders general mobilization

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree on the general mobilization of the population in the wake of Russia's invasion.

Conscripts and reservists will be called up over the next 90 days to "ensure the defense of the state, maintaining combat and mobilization readiness," an entry on the Ukrainian presidency's website said.

"We have been left alone to defend our state," Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation after midnight. 

"Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid," he added. 

The Ukrainian leader vowed to continue fighting, saying that "a new iron curtain" was falling between Russia and the West.

Ukraine's border guard said that males aged 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country in a statement posted on its Facebook account.

The restriction will last for the duration of the period of martial law in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy: Death toll over 100

Zelenskyy has announced that 137 citizens, including military personnel, had been killed and over 300 had been injured since Russia invaded

He called them "heroes" in the video address. Zelenskyy said that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck.

"They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven," he said.

Zelenskyy added that all the border guards on Zmiinyi island in Ukraine's southwestern Odesa region were killed on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Russia took control of Chernobyl, the site of a nuclear disaster in 1986 and where a decommissioned nuclear power plant and exclusion zone remain.

The White House said on Thursday that it was outraged at reports of hostages taken at the facilities at Chernobyl.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders

Opinion: Germany has to wake up to Russia

Germans are in shock at the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Few people really thought that an invasion of Ukraine was possible, perhaps because of the historical relationship between Germany and Russia. There is a feeling that Russia is too close to Germany to mess with.

But DW's Jens Thurau says Germany has to change its approach and will now be forced to in a terrible way.

Biden: Russia to keep access to SWIFT

The United States and European Union have decided for the time being not to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global interbank payments system, US President Joe Biden said.

When asked about the reason for this decision, Biden said that sanctions imposed against Russian banks exceeded the impact of excluding Russia from SWIFT and there wasn't unanimity within the EU on taking the additional step.

"It is always an option," Biden said. "But right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is currently opposed to cutting off Russia's access to SWIFT, but added that this could step could be taken at a later stage.

"It is very important that we agree those measures that have been prepared - and keep everything else for a situation where it may be necessary to go beyond that," Scholz said when asked on cutting Russia off from SWIFT.

West ramps up sanctions on Russia

Western leaders have announced a package of sweeping sanctions against Russia.

After an emergency meeting in Brussels, EU leaders said they would impose  "massive and severe" sanctions targeting Russia's energy, finance, and transport sectors and restrictions on exports and financing. The bloc also wants to draw up sanctions against Belarus because of its close links to Russia.

US sanctions will limit international trade with Moscow and penalize Putin's inner circle.

"(President Vladimir) Putin chose this war. And now, he and his country will bear the consequences," US President Joe Biden said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the "largest-ever" set of economic sanctions against Russia. Speaking to parliament, Johnson said the UK was sanctioning more than 100 individuals and entities and freezing assets of all major Russian banks. "Furthermore, we are also banning (Russian commercial airline) Aeroflot from the UK," Johnson said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would sanction members of Russia's elite and their families, the paramilitary Wagner Group, and major Russian banks. Canada also canceled existing export permits for Russia and would not issue new ones.

Australia imposed more sanctions against Russia on Friday.

The sanctions targeted several of its elite citizens and lawmakers.

Following a similar move by the United States, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan would strengthen sanctions against Russia to include financial institutions and military equipment exports.

Macron and Putin speak

French President Emmanuel Macron called Vladimir Putin on Thursday demanding Russia stop military operations in Ukraine.

The French president phoned his Russian counterpart after he spoke with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Macron undertook strenuous diplomacy in recent weeks to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine, including holding direct talks with Putin.

The Kremlin says there was a "serious and frank exchange of views."

Putin explained "in detail his reasons for the invasion, but Macron warned him of "massive sanctions."

A map showing where Russia had attacked Ukraine by midday Thursday

Summary of events in Ukraine on Thursday

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Its military attacked from the north, south and east.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenkskyy declared martial law as Russia attacked the country's military infrastructure.

Air-raid sirens went off in the capital Kyiv and explosions were heard across Ukraine. Thousands of Kyiv residents fled the city.

World leaders condemned the invasion. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "Putin's war" was without justification.

The EU, as well as the UK and US, announced massive sanctions against Russia.

sdi/sms (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)