Extract from ABC News
Russian missiles continued to pound Kyiv on Friday, as families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend Ukraine's capital, as fighting was reported outside the city and Ukrainian troops in armoured vehicles rolled in.
Key points:
Russia has not yet mobilised the majority of its forces, according to US defence officials
Thousands of Ukrainians are crossing into neighbouring countries in search of safety
- New EU sanctions include freezing the European assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin
A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a three-pronged invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south, air raid sirens again wailed over the city of 3 million people.
Some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, while others attempted to leave the city via evacuation trains to other parts of the country or neighbouring countries.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, both stayed. The former world heavyweight boxing champions prepared to fight.
However, Vitali warned citizens of Kyiv they were in for a potential protracted siege as Ukrainian troops rolled into Kyiv.
"The city has gone into a defensive phase," Mayor Klitschko said.
"Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighbourhoods. Saboteurs have already entered Kyiv.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 airfield, north-west of the capital.
Moscow said it had captured the Hostomel — a vital staging post for an assault on Kyiv but Ukrainian authorities did not confirm this and reported heavy fighting there.
Russian troops advancing slower than anticipated
While Kyiv was slowly being encircled, reports have emerged from US and UK intelligence that Russian troops are advancing slower than anticipated on the Ukrainian capital.
A senior US defence official also said Russian troops have faced more resistance than anticipated and appeared to have lost some of their momentum.
Still, Russia has not yet mobilised the majority of its forces arrayed around Ukraine, the official said, assessing that just about one-third have now been "committed" to its offensive.
The official cited indications of a Russian amphibious assault west of Mariupol, "putting potentially thousands of naval infantry ashore there".
The United States said it had observed more than 200 total missile launches so far.
NATO leaders said on Friday they would deploy more troops to eastern Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine, saying that Moscow had lied about its intentions.
"No one should be fooled by the Russian government's barrage of lies," the 30 leaders said in a joint statement after a virtual summit chaired by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
"We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the alliance."
Thousands flee Kyiv
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that more than 100,000 people are believed to have left their homes in Ukraine and that up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates.
Most of those arriving on Friday were women, children and the elderly after Ukraine's president on Thursday banned men of military age from leaving the country.
A woman from Kyiv who arrived in Przemsyl, Poland, broke down in tears describing how men were pulled off trains in Ukraine before they got to the border.
"Even if the man was travelling with his own child he couldn't cross the border, even with a kid," said the woman, who would only give her first name, Daria.
Cars were backed up for several kilometres at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilised to receive them, providing shelter, food and legal help.
At border crossings in Poland, Ukrainians arrived on foot and by car and train — some with their pets — and were greeted by Polish authorities and volunteers offering them food and hot drinks.
Some sought to join relatives who have already settled in Poland and other EU nations, whose strong economies have for many years attracted Ukrainian workers.
Marika Sipos fled Koson, a village in western Ukraine close to the Hungarian border, arriving early Friday in Lonya, Hungary.
"We had to leave behind everything, our whole life's work," Ms Sipon said, describing it as a "terrible feeling."
Erika Barta, arriving from Backi Breg, Ukraine, said she would seek shelter with relatives in Hungary and planned to return when the danger passes.
"It's not safe at home anymore," she said.
For many, the first stop was a train station in Przemysl, a city in south-eastern Poland that is a transit point for many. Ukrainians slept on cots and in chairs as they awaited their next moves, relieved to escape the shelling of Kyiv and other places.
Putin to be hit with sanctions
In response to Moscow's continuing military assault, the European Union is currently finalising the details of a third round of sanctions against Russia.
The new measures will include freezing all assets held there by Mr Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
It is not known how many assets either man may hold within the EU.
However, Mr Putin's personal assets had previously not been touched with sanctions.
"We are moving as quickly as we can," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding the bloc could also target "many more" Russian oligarchs than it has already.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to thrash out details of a package of sanctions — the EU's second this week — that was agreed in principle by their leaders at an emergency summit that ran into the early hours of Friday.
The leaders' agreement meant the bloc is joining the US and others in taking steps such as curbing Russia's access to key technologies and financing.
The sanctions will also target Russian elites and make it tougher for diplomats to travel, but EU leaders opted not to curb Russian energy imports, or — after objections from Germany and Italy, among others — cut Russia off from SWIFT.
Reuters
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