Biden says Putin's invasion is bringing Europe and NATO closer together
From CNN's Sam Fossum
US President Joe Biden, in a taped interview that aired on Saturday, said one of his major strategic goals as Russia invades Ukraine is to keep NATO and the European Union united.
"My goal from the very beginning was to make sure that I kept all of NATO and the European Union on the same page. Because the one thing I think Putin thought he could do was split NATO, creating a great aperture for him to be able to walk through. And that hasn't happened," Biden told podcaster and commentator Brian Tyler Cohen.
Biden also predicted that Russia would pay a heavy price in both the long and short term for its invasion of Ukraine, adding that the conflict is bringing Europe and NATO closer together.
"He's producing the exact opposite effect that he intended," Biden said of Putin.
When asked about sanctions, Biden argued that he believes it's one of the only ways to penalize Russia without risking war on a global scale.
"You have two options. Start a third world war, go to war with Russia, physically. Or two, make sure that a country that acts so contrary to international law pays a price for having done it," Biden said.
He also pointed to the defense weaponry and economic assistance the US is providing Ukraine as the country continues to fend off the Russian advance.
1:12 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Germany supports SWIFT sanctions against Russia in some form
From Inke Kappeler in Berlin
Germany has said it will support restricting Russia from SWIFT after days of debate among European Union members as to whether to include the global interbank payment system in its next round of sanctions.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and German Economics Minister Robert Habeck in a joint tweet on Saturday said they are “under high pressure to avoid collateral damage when decoupling (Russia) from SWIFT so it will hit the right people. What we need is a targeted and functional constraint of SWIFT.”
More background: US President Joe Biden is seriously weighing whether to publicly support expelling Russia from SWIFT, but has yet to make a final decision, according to multiple people familiar with his thinking say.
The decision to trigger the action has always been contingent on sign-off by the European Union, which has been split in a contentious debate for weeks over the action, ultimately choosing not to go forward this week.
Ukraine appealed for Russia to be removed from SWIFT after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on Thursday. The call from Kyiv was backed by numerous countries, including Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and the United Kingdom.
Hungary will not block sanctions against Russia, including on SWIFT, according to its foreign minister. Italy has also signaled that it would support taking measures to expel Russia from the SWIFT global payment system as part of further EU sanctions.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Phil Mattingly, and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.
2:26 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Russian thermobaric "vacuum bombs" launcher seen by CNN team in Ukraine
From CNN's Fred Pleitgen, Ivana Kottasová and Tim Lister
(CNN)
A Russian thermobaric multiple rockets launcher has been spotted by CNN team south of Belgorod, Russia, near the Ukrainian border early Saturday afternoon.
The TOS-1 or TOS-1A Multiple Rocket Launcher seen by CNN is capable of launching rockets with thermobaric warheads.
There is no evidence that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine.
These types of weapons do not use conventional ammunition. Instead, they are filled with high-temperature, high-pressure explosive. They are sometimes called “vacuum bombs” because they suck in the oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a powerful explosion and a large pressure wave that can have enormous destructive effects.
Thermobaric weapons have been used in Chechnya, with horrifying consequences, according to Human Rights Watch. Their use has been condemned by number of non-governmental organizations.
1:10 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Ukrainians try to block Russian tanks with their bodies and bicycles
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy and Josh Pennington
Dramatic video out of Bakhmach, Ukraine, shows Ukrainians citizens standing in front of Russian tanks, attempting to stop them from moving forward.
In the video, tanks can be seen driving on roads in Bakhmach, which is just over 110 miles northeast of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
CNN has confirmed the authenticity and location of the video.
"They are throwing their bicycles underneath the Russian tanks," a voice on the video says.
Then a man steps in front of one and jumps on top. The tank continues to roll forward until the man jumps off, puts his hands on the tank and tries to hold it back. The tank stops suddenly, and the man moves in front, kneeling in front to obstruct its path.
The tank stops for just a moment longer as bystanders appear to pull the man to the side.
"People are begging the tanks to stop," the voice on the video says.
It starts to move again, but is again confronted by another Ukrainian standing in front of it.
"They are just throwing themselves under the wheels," the voice on the video says, as other bystanders are seen gesturing and yelling toward the tanks.
The legs of the individual that stood in front of the tank are seen airborne in the video; they appeared to have jumped on the tank again.
Before the video cuts off, the tank spits out a black cloud of exhaust and continues moving forward.
WATCH:
12:46 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Twitter says it is being restricted inside Russia
From CNN's Pierre Meilhan
Twitter said Saturday it is being restricted inside Russia and is working to address the issue.
“We’re aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our service safe and accessible,” the company said on its support account.
Twitter did not immediately comment on whether it is in touch with the Russian government about this problem or whether any action would be taken by Russia.
12:45 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Russian ministry says civilian involvement in Ukraine defensive effort will "lead to accidents and casualties"
From CNN’s Nathan Hodge and Vasco Cotovio in Moscow
The Russian Ministry of Defence has criticized the Ukrainian government for handing out weapons to civilians, saying it “will inevitably lead to accidents and casualties.”
“The Kyiv nationalist regime massively and uncontrollably distributes automatic small arms, grenade launchers and ammunition to residents of Ukrainian settlements,” the Ministry of Defence spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement on Saturday. “The involvement of the civilian population of Ukraine by the nationalists in the hostilities will inevitably lead to accidents and casualties."
Despite Russian claims to the contrary, evidence suggests civilian infrastructure is under attack. Reports about apartment buildings and kindergartens being shelled, civilians being killed, and rockets being found in residential streets have been trickling in since the beginning of the offensive.
Social media videos, photos and satellite images analyzed and geolocated by CNN confirm that on several occasions densely populated areas have been hit by Russian forces.
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said Saturday he "most strongly" condemns Russian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Konashenkov also repeated claims that the Ukrainian military was deploying heavy military equipment in civilian areas.
“Our intelligence data continues to record the deployment of rocket and artillery units by Ukrainian nationalists in residential areas not only in Kyiv, but also in other Ukrainian cities,” he said.
“We call on the people of Ukraine to be conscious, not to succumb to these provocations of the Kyiv regime and not to expose themselves and their loved ones to unnecessary suffering,” Konashenkov concluded.
10:27 a.m. ET, March 6, 2022
People with disabilities and mobility issues find themselves trapped in Kyiv
From CNN's Ivana Kottasova in Kyiv
From left, Sofia, Yulia, Yulia’s mother and Maryna. (Courtesy Yulia Klepets)
About a minute after the sirens went off on Saturday morning, Yulia Klepets heard a huge boom. She saw from her window that an apartment building roughly 200 meters from her home got hit by something.
A huge hole appeared on one side of the high-rise building. There was fire and smoke. Debris was flying around. She started panicking; her whole body was shaking.
Klepets has been hunkering down in her home alongside her mother, two daughters and a cousin. The five women had to made a quick decision. Klepets’ cousin and younger daughter went down to an underground carpark that turned into a bomb shelter. She stayed behind with her mother and older daughter.
“My mother is 82 years old. She cannot walk on her own and there is no way to get her down, because we're on the seventh floor,” she told CNN on Saturday.
Klepets’ older daughter, Maryna, is 25 years old and has autism. She was in a state of shock, unable to move.
“She couldn’t go down the stairs. She wouldn’t be able to stay in the shelter,” Klepets said.
Maryna doesn’t understand what is going on, Klepets said. She keeps asking her mother whether or not there will be any more shaking.
“She wants to go to the sea, or at least to the pool, and I have to explain to her that there is a war right now so we cannot do that, and then she says, ‘Maybe it will end and then we'll go to someplace nice [near] the sea,’” Klepets said, adding that Maryna doesn’t know how to swim, but she really loves the seaside. “She finds [it] miraculous when she's next to the sea.”
Maryna (Courtesy Yulia Klepets)
Not long after the strike, Klepets’ cousin came back from the basement. She said Sofia, Klepets’ younger daughter, was too scared without her. She tried to resist, refusing to leave her mother and Maryna behind, but was forced to go.
“We said our goodbyes. We hugged each other without saying a word,” she said.
Klepets said she has been trying to get help for her mother and Maryna for the past four days.
“I called the rehabilitation service center and was told that people who were unable to move by themselves needed to call and register so that they are on the list of people who need help with mobility,” she said. “They told me to call the next day, that they would tell me which documents we needed. Then they told me that they can come to my apartment and help me clean but they did not offer to take my daughter out. I don't know what to say about this,” she said.
Klepets said that families of people with disabilities are finding themselves trapped in Kyiv.
“Yesterday, there were evacuations, so there was a chance to get away. There were trains, the local transport was running fee of charge, the trains were free, but you had to come to the railway station on your own and I cannot leave my mother,” she said.
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Maryna's name.
12:42 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
Nearly 2,700 people detained in anti-war protests in Russia since Thursday, monitoring site says
From CNN's Anna Chernova in Moscow
A demonstrator against the invasion of Ukraine is led away by police in Moscow, on February 24. (Daniil Danchenko/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
A total of 2,692 people have been detained in anti-war protests in Russia since Thursday, independent protest monitoring site OVD-Info said Saturday.
At least 1,370 of them were detained in protests in Moscow, according to the same site.
Protests are ongoing in at least 27 cities, according to OVD-Info.
On Thursday, Russia's Investigative Committee warned that participation in any anti-war protest was illegal. It also said that offenses could be entered on participants’ criminal records which would “leave a mark on the person’s future.”
12:21 p.m. ET, February 26, 2022
On the ground: CNN correspondent observes Russian armored vehicles moving toward Ukraine
A large column of Russian armored vehicles drove past CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen on Saturday headed toward Ukrainian territory and the city of Kharkiv.
"This is something ... that we've seen throughout the entire course of the day, that more of this heavy equipment has been moving towards the front line," he reported from near Belgorod, Russia.
"To see the Russians move that many of those in one column towards the front line is certainly something that at least for us right now is remarkable," he said.
He also said that he and his team have been hearing more rocket launchers going off today than in the past few days.
Earlier today, a senior US defense official said Russian forces are facing the “stiffest resistance” to their invasion in the northern part of Ukraine along two axes: “down towards Kyiv and generally from Belgorod towards Khakriv."
