February 25, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Friday that Russia intends to take the whole of Ukraine, but that it has failed to deliver its main objectives.

On her official Twitter account, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described the Russian invasion as "barbaric."

"Putin’s assault on Ukraine is barbaric, unjustified and shows a callous disregard for human life. We will continue to hold Putin to account and remain steadfast in our support," Truss tweeted, reiterating the United Kingdom's solidarity with Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court reminded the world on Friday that it is watching Ukraine, and could investigate any "acts of genocide" and "war crimes" seen there.

"My office will continue to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine," he added. "In the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate, the Office remains fully committed to the prevention of atrocity crimes and to ensuring that anyone responsible for such crimes is held accountable.”

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) severed its diplomatic ties with Russia on Friday in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

A bomb shelter at the Kyiv metro's Polytechnic Institute station was briefly inaccessible to people on Thursday night, the city’s Deputy Mayor Kostiantyn Usov said in a statement on Facebook. 

Usov described being unable to immediately access the station, which has been serving as a safe place for people to congregate. 

“I had to knock for about five to seven minutes, loudly enough,” he said. 

The deputy mayor said police decided to close the door following a number of incidents. People who knocked and presented their identification documents were allowed to enter.

Usov asked Kyiv’s residents to report any similar incidents. 

Kyiv's metro system — which has three lines and more than 50 stations — houses a number of bomb shelters, with red arrows painted on walls throughout the city pointing to the nearest one. 

Ukrainian lawmaker Lesia Vasylenko was urging the international community to give assistance on Friday when she was interrupted by the sound of jets flying overhead.

"If this continues at the level it is happening now, these air strikes happening, the tanks rolling in, Ukraine will not be able to stand for long against such a massive Russian aggression, and we need assistance," she told CNN from Kyiv. She added that more sanctions are needed, as well as more weapons in Ukraine and the closure of the country's airspace.

She paused for a while, glancing out of her window off camera. "I'm sorry ... as we speak, there were several planes flying in the direction of the city. And we know from the President's address just several minutes ago that air strikes are to begin right about now," she said, with a rumbling noise in the background.

She added that despite the fear, she also felt faith "in the Ukrainian army and in the Ukrainian people."

"People here are brave and are not up to giving up their country," she said. "We do not want to live under somebody's rule, whoever it is. We are a free people. We have fought for our freedom. Our men and women have died for this freedom."

In his video message to the Ukrainian people early Friday morning, President Volodymyr Zelensky said "sooner or later, Russia will have to talk to us about ending this military operation, about ending this invasion, and the sooner this conversation begins, the less Russia's losses will be."

Zelensky also welcomed protests in Russia against the invasion.

On Thursday, anti-war protesters held small demonstrations across Russia, according to independent media and monitoring organizations — even as they faced arrest and police threatened to disperse crowds by physical force.

Russia bars demonstrations without a permit, but Russians may stage individual, single-person protests.

As of Thursday evening Moscow time, at least 1,237 people had been detained in at least 44 cities across Russia, independent monitoring group OVD-Info reported. 

Ukrainians are waking up on Friday morning to the realization that the previous day was not just a bad dream. Their country is being invaded by Russia, their capital city targeted by strikes. 

A number of loud bangs rang through Kyiv at daybreak and air raid sirens repeatedly sounded on the deserted streets. 

An apartment building on the left bank of the city was ablaze overnight after apparently being hit by debris. 

In another incident, a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was shot down over the capital. Pictures from the emergency services showed a two-story home on fire after fragments of a plane fell on it, although it was unclear if they were from the Su-27 jet.

While an overnight curfew officially lifted at 7 a.m., the city remained eerily quiet with many residents choosing to stay inside. Many others have already escaped Kyiv — the roads heading west of the capital were jam-packed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the country’s airborne assault troops blew up a bridge over the Teteriv River at Ivankiv, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kyiv, in an effort to prevent a column of Russian forces from advancing toward the capital.

While the ministry said the Russian advance was stopped, the information will provide little comfort to the residents sheltering in place in Kyiv.

A Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was shot down over the capital, Kyiv, early Friday, according to Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin.

Photos tweeted by the Ukrainian emergency forces appear to show a fire at a two-story house after fragments of a plane fell on it. It's unclear if those are the remnants of the Su-27 jet.

As morning arrived in Ukraine on Friday, residents in some cities awoke to the sounds of air raid sirens and explosions.

In the capital, Kyiv, CNN teams on the ground reported hearing blasts during the early hours, then again as dawn broke.

Reporters in both Kyiv and Lviv, located in the west of the country, said they heard air raid sirens continue for several minutes.

CNN teams did not see incoming fire.

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