Russia launched attacks on Ukraine after months of gathering troops near its borders. The army’s action, ordered Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, amounts to a full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Dozens of army sites have already been hit by Russian fire and casualties are piling up. The repercussions are felt beyond Europe as geopolitical development and volatility in money and power markets shake Asia.
For all our coverage, our page on the crisis in Ukraine.
Read our detailed coverage:
– ASEAN faces consequences of Russian invasion of Ukraine
– How Russia’s Attack on Ukraine Affects Asian Businesses: Five Things You Should Know
– Chinese netizens divided in Ukraine when a crude joke generates anger
Biden Unveils New Sanctions on Russia, Remains Silent on China’s Role
–The clash in Ukraine will have a significant effect in Asia
Entries come with archives from nikkei Asia news agencies and journalists.
Here are the developments:
Sunday, February 27 (Tokyo time)
11:05 a. m. Ukraine and Russia agreed to unconditional talks, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said.
Officials from both agreed to meet as Russian forces put pressure on Kiev.
Belarusian State Television reported on the deal. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has tried to negotiate the talks.
21:25 Japan will join the foreign effort to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces. He told reporters that Japan also plans to freeze assets held by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government officials.
21:10 Israel Army Radio reports that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has proposed to Putin that his country can simply mediate in the crisis.
8:20 p. m. The Hungarian foreign minister said another 66,000 people had entered the country from Ukraine in recent days. The United Nations says the total number of refugees has reached 368,000 and “continues to rise. “
20:10 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country has filed a petition with Russia at the International Court of Justice.
7:45 p. m. Germany will increase its defense spending to more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz said in a special parliamentary session. He says this is mandatory to protect Germany’s “freedom and democracy. “The 2022 budget will include 100 billion euros for the army.
The country has resisted calls from other Western powers to increase defense spending, in part because of its own twentieth-century history. But the war in Ukraine turns out to be forcing a change of heart. The Scholz government has also damaged with a policy of not delivering weapons to the areas of confrontation, agreeing to send anti-tank weapons, missiles and ammunition to Ukraine.
18:35 Russian President Vladimir Putin has been suspended as honorary president of the International Judo Federation, announces the governing framework of the sport, “in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine. “
18:03 The UK says Moscow will have to withdraw its troops before attempting talks. “They can’t negotiate with a gun to the head of Ukrainians,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
5:48 p. m. Finland is about to close its airspace to Russian planes, its shipping minister said. Other European countries, in addition to Lithuania and Latvia, have also said they will, while Germany has said it is in favour.
4:40 p. m. A Russian delegation arrived in Belarus for talks with Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying by the Ifax news agency on Sunday. open to negotiations elsewhere, according to Reuters.
2:56 p. m. Russian troops have entered the city of Kharkiv, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister.
1:15 p. m. Australia will provide “lethal assistance” to Ukraine through its NATO partners, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. “We’ll work through those channels because it’s the most effective way to do that,” Morrison said. quoted through the national television station ABC. The report indicates that aid is more likely to take the form of monetary contributions to the source of weapons, than direct arms shipments. Canberra had in the past promised non-lethal aid, adding army and medical equipment.
11:45 a. m. Russian troops blew up an oil pipeline in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to Ukraine’s state service for special communications and data protection. A video posted on Telegram showed a mushroom-shaped explosion. It is unclear what role the pipeline played and whether its destruction can alter combustible materials beyond the city or country.
11:07 here is our explanation of what Russia’s withdrawal from the SWIFT invoice formula means.
10:55 a. m. Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian city of Vasylkiv, southwest of the capital Kiev, setting fire to an oil terminal, the city’s mayor said in a video posted online.
10:53 a. m. Former U. S. President Donald Trump condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said he prays for Ukrainians, setting a tone similar to this week when he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
9:05 a. m. Japan will coordinate heavily with its G7 counterparts to impose or not new sanctions on Russia, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono asks in a tweet why Japan has joined Russia’s withdrawal from SWIFT through the West.
7:43 a. m. The United States, Britain, Europe and Canada will on Saturday block Russia’s access to the fast payment formula abroad as part of a new sanctions circular against Moscow as it continues its attack on Ukraine. The measures, which also come with restrictions on the Russian central bank’s foreign exchange reserves, will be implemented in the coming days, the nations said in a joint statement.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has entrusted the trustees of the London football team’s base with control of the Premier League club, the Russian billionaire said, amid calls for the UK to be sanctioned for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich, who bought the London club in 2003, said the base was “in the best position to protect the interests” of the club. Abramovich remains the owner of the club and did not reveal why he entrusted him with control of the base or any main point about how the deal was carried out. Worked.
4:20 a. m. An adviser to President Zelensky says Russia’s attack on Kiev is not advancing and that some 3,500 Russian infantrymen have been killed or wounded in Moscow’s assault. “We are hitting the enemy around Kiev. The enemy does not move in the moment,” oleksiy Arestovych said.
3:55 a. m. YouTube suspends several Russian channels, adding state-funded media outlet RT, so they don’t generate profits on the site, following a similar resolution by Facebook owner Meta Platforms. the ability of several channels to monetize on YouTube, adding several Russian channels affiliated with the recent sanctions,” YouTube said in a statement.
2:31 a. m. British Prince William and his wife Kate say they are with the other Ukrainians as they “fight valiantly” against the invasion of Russia, in a rare public comment for the British royal circle of relatives on political issues.
The circle of relatives of British royalty sometimes fails to pronounce on primary political issues, and adheres to a constitutional rule that it must remain neutral. However, William’s younger brother Harry and his wife Meghan, who have left their royal duties to move to Los Angeles, said Thursday on their online page that they are also with the other Ukrainians “against this violation of foreign and humanitarian law. “
2:05 a. m. Berlin will supply Ukraine with defensive anti-tank guns, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition, in a replacement policy as Russian forces continue to bomb Kiev and other cities on the third day of their campaign. After being criticized for refusing to send weapons to Kiev, unlike other Western allies, Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz said Berlin would supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr reserves. Germany also approves the delivery of 400 rockets. grenades propelled from the Netherlands to Ukraine. Countries wishing to transfer German arms exports will first need to get Berlin’s approval.
1:18 a. m. Germany is circling Russia’s restrictions on Russia’s fast-paced global interbank payments system, joining other Western powers in supporting tougher sanctions aimed at preventing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We are urgently looking at how to restrict the collateral damage of disengaging from SWIFT so that it affects the right people. What we want is a specific and functional restriction of SWIFT,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
00:30 Five Chinese from prestigious universities condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a rare case where high-level professors pass opposite the government’s line of passage.
“We firmly oppose Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the professors say. “We strongly support the movements of other Ukrainians to protect their country. We are concerned that Russia’s acts of force will provoke unrest in Europe and around the world, and provoke wider humanitarian disasters. “
The contract is signed by Sun Jiang of Nanjing University, Wang Lixin of Peking University, Xu Guoqi of the University of Hong Kong, Zhong Weimin of Tsinghua University and Chen Yan of Fudan University.
It was posted on WeChat, but removed through the platform.
Saturday, February 26
23:53 Russian forces are increasingly frustrated with what the U. S. is doing. The U. S. considers Ukrainian resistance “viable,” a U. S. defense official said. We saw very determined resistance,” the official told Reuters, without offering evidence.
23:15 France seizes a car freighter in the English Channel that Washington says is linked to the son of a former Russian spy chief, in one of the first visual protests in the West to impose sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Petersburg has still diverted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, Captain Véronique Magnin of the French maritime prefecture told Reuters. The shipment “strongly suspected of being connected to Russian interests targeted by the sanctions,” he said.
10:45 p. m. President Joe Biden has asked the U. S. State Department to ask the U. S. State Department to do so. The U. S. sends up to $350 million more in weapons from U. S. stockpiles. The U. S. military to Ukraine on Friday as it works to repel a Russian invasion, Reuters reports. Ukraine has called for Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to shoot down planes
22:32 Hungary accepts all Ukrainian citizens and legal residents, whether or not they are subject to military conscription into the Ukrainian armed forces, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a press conference. “We let everyone in,” says Orban. I’ve noticed other people who don’t have documents, but we also provide them with documents. And we also allow those who have arrived from third countries after the correct control. “
6:15 p. m. Moscow will respond to the seizure of cash held by its citizens and corporations by seizing the budget of foreigners and foreign corporations in Russia, the RIA news firm said on Saturday, citing Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council. Russia does not rule out nationalizing the assets of corporations registered in the US. The U. S. , the EU and other “hostile jurisdictions,” Medvedev said.
5:47 p. m. Russia’s communications regulator on Saturday accused 10 local media outlets of misrepresenting what Russia calls a special army operation in Ukraine and of spreading false data about events there. Among the warning letters sent were Echo Moskvy, a popular radio station, and Novaya Gazeta, a critical newspaper whose editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Roskomnadzor, the regulator, ordered the media to suppress the offensive data or face limited access to their websites and media resources.
5:28 p. m. At least 198 Ukrainians, in addition to 3 children, have died as a result of the Russian invasion, the head of Ukraine’s fitness ministry was quoted as saying by news firm Interfax on Saturday. He said another 1,115 people were injured, adding 33 children. it is not transparent if it referred only to civilian casualties.
5:04 p. m. Staff at the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow are evacuated to Latvia, The Latvian Foreign Ministry told Reuters. Said. He declined to say whether embassy staff had ever arrived in Latvia, raising security concerns.
Zelenskyy asked through the United States to leave Kiev, but refused, according to The Associated Press. of obvious Russian attempts to encircle the capital.
13:47 After suggesting Chinese citizens show their country’s flag on their cars to protect themselves in Ukraine two days ago, the Chinese embassy in the country is now urging its citizens not to reveal their identities or give symptoms of identification. The message sent via a WeChat message, bringing up “increasingly excessive behavior” in Ukraine.
11:42 a. m. Russian troops attacked a military base on a major street in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, but the attack was repulsed, according to the Ukrainian military.
Separately, news firm Interfax Ukraine said Russian infantrymen were going to capture one of the city’s force plants.
9:26 a. m. The United States joins European countries in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“President Putin and Minister Lavrov are guilty of the new unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democratic state,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
8:15 a. m. Zelenskyy has asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate the matter with Russia, Reuters reports, bringing up Ukraine’s envoy to Israel.
7:54 a. m. : Russia vetoed a Western-led UN Security Council solution condemning its invasion of Ukraine by voting against it. India, China and the United Arab Emirates abstained. There were 11 votes in favour.
“You can’t veto the truth,” the U. S. representative said.
7:25 a. m. The United States presents a solution at the UN Security Council with a call: “Vote no, or abstain, if you do not comply with the statutes and align yourself with Russia’s aggressive and unprovoked actions. Just as Russia had a choice, so too. “you. “
6:53 a. m. The sports world is wondering how to react to the Russian invasion. UEFA has moved the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris and Formula 1 has cancelled its Race for the Russian Grand Prix.
The International Olympic Committee has suggested sports bodies cancel or move events to Russia and Belarus. The Hockey, Volleyball and Shooting World Championships are recently scheduled in Russia.
Alex Ovechkin, a Star of Russian hockey and the NHL, has appealed against the war in the media. “Please. No more war. No matter who is at war: Russia, Ukraine, other countries, we have to be at peace. “He said.
The Russian F1 Grand Prix will take position and the UEFA Champions League football final has been moved.
5:40 a. m. All eyes are on China and India ahead of a UN Security Council MEETING. The council intends to vote on a Western-led solution on stage in Ukraine. Russia is expected to veto, drawing attention to the vote. of China and India.
The assembly was delayed by a “linguistic difference” between the United States and a vital partner.
4:50 a. m. A Russian warning about any moves to come with Finland and Sweden in NATO has drawn attention.
“Your club in NATO can have destructive consequences,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news conference, adding that there could be “political and military consequences. “
03:11 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his European counterparts on Ukraine and detailed China’s position on the matter.
China “firmly advocates respecting and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and sincerely respects the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” according to a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “This position is consistent and clear, and it also applies to Ukraine. “
Given NATO’s decades of eastward expansion, Russia’s “legitimate security needs will need to be taken seriously and dealt with properly,” but the existing scenario in Ukraine is “something we don’t need to see,” he said.
3:00 a. m. Zelenskyy holds a conversation with the U. S. president. U. S. Joe Biden, in relation to the U. S. The U. S. and its allies for Ukraine.
2:15 a. m. Zelenskyy publishes a video of the Kiev district following the hypothesis in the Russian media that he fled.
“We are here. We are protecting Ukraine,” he said in the video.
Zelenskyy stands with other officials, one of whom, the prime minister, shows his phone to show that it is up to date.
1:25 a. m. Consensus among EU countries remains elusive on the severity of monetary sanctions, adding Russia’s ban on the global interbank SWIFT system.
At an assembly of European economy and finance ministers in Paris, Frenchman Bruno Le Maire said “everything is on the table. “
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner expresses a cautious openness to a swift ban.
“We’re open, but you want to know what to do,” Lindner told reporters.
1:15 a. m. ” NATO has taken a more decisive step” in reaction to the Ukraine crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers, adding that Ukraine needed more than “advice” from Western capitals.
“Without a resolute position, a scenario emerges, described by [Ukrainian] President Zelenskyy as ‘They only give us advice, not support,’ which is contrary to friendship and solidarity. “
12:50 a. m. La European Union plans to freeze the assets of Russian President Putin and his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, the Washington Post and other media reports, bringing up others close to the talks.
“What is vital is that Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov, guilty of this situation, are now severely punished by the European Union,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
00:20 British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urges her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to “defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. “
Friday, February 25
20:40 Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian President Vladimir Putin that China supports the resolution of the Ukrainian factor negotiation. Xi says China maintains a consistent fundamental position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and upholding the purposes and principles of the UN charter, according to The Global Times’ Tweet.
A report on China’s CCTV talks says Putin explained the ancient context and prestige of the Russian military’s operation, noting that the U. S. The US and NATO had ignored Russia’s concerns. The report states that Russia is willing to hold high-level talks with Ukraine. To the state broadcaster, Xi said China will base its position on the merits of the Ukrainian factor itself.
6:40 p. m. Rahm Emanuel, the U. S. ambassador to Japan, praised Japan’s “swift and secure” sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, and warned that the lack of a coordinated reaction could threaten stability in Asia. “It is worth noting why the Indo-Pacific countries led through Japan but adding Australia and New Zealand, South Korea took the floor,” Emanuel said at a news convention at the Japan Foreign Correspondents Club. “Because whether it’s in Europe or here in the Indo-Pacific, there are principles and principles that the system. “
5:00 pm. The CEO of Japanese group Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani, said the company will provide coupons to Ukrainian users to make calls abroad with its Viber Out service. Viber, which the Japanese e-commerce company acquired in 2014, has a market penetration of 96% in Ukraine. “What we’re looking for is a social platform. . . so we hope that a democratic government will be maintained,” Mikitani told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
16:33 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed fear over the economic consequences of the Ukrainian clash in emerging countries at an assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Khan was the first world leader to meet with Putin since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, having arrived in Moscow for a scheduled stopover in the past just hours before the attack began.
4:24 p. m. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin discussed tactics for bilateral relations in reaction to sanctions against Russia, Tokayev’s office said. Kazakhstan is strongly allied with Russia and leads economic and military blocs connected to Moscow. The Kazakh tenge has fallen with the ruble since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday.
15:00. A few dozen demonstrators gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, to protest against the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Protesters from multinational backgrounds held posters calling on Russia and President Vladimir Putin to end the aggression. Ukrainian participants sang their national anthem in solidarity with their country.
2:15 P. M. wheat futures The U. S. has reached its peak in just 14 years, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stokes fears of disruptions in grain materials in the key Black Sea region. $9. 60-3/4 previous in the session, is from June 2008.
Wheat’s strong gains in recent days show the market sees a smart chance that Russian wheat will be largely sanctioned out of the market, Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said, according to Reuters.
10:50 a. m. Australia imposes new sanctions on Russia, targeting several of its citizens and elite lawmakers. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also said it was “unacceptable” for China to ease industrial restrictions with Moscow at the time it invaded Ukraine.
10:38 a. m Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said the island would join democratic countries in imposing sanctions on Russia following Ukraine’s invasion, he gave no details, Reuters reports.
9:57 a. m. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the country will impose more sanctions on Russia and add restrictions on flea exports. at a press conference.
8:00 a. m. The U. S. Secretary of StateU. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar after President Joe Biden Washington has yet to coordinate with New Delhi over the Ukraine conflict.
“Secretary Blinken insists on the importance of a strong collective reaction to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an early withdrawal and ceasefire,” according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.
None of the aspects provided the main points about what the high-level diplomats agreed, if any.
7:00 a. m. U. S. MarketsUU. se are moving violently in reaction to the Ukraine conflict, sparking a turbulent day in Asia. The S index
6. 10 a. m. The European Council “condemns in the strongest terms the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.
5:50 a. m. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told Putin in a phone call that NATO expansion is a “serious threat” to the region’s security and stability, Reuters reports, citing the semi-official Nour News newspaper.
5:20 am The International Atomic Energy Agency questions the scenario in Ukraine: “Regarding the scenario at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine has informed the IAEA that ‘unidentified armed forces’ have taken control of all services of the specialized force State Nuclear Power Plant of the Chernobyl company, located in the exclusion zone. The counterpart added that there were no casualties or destruction at the commercial site. Director General [Rafael] Grossi said it was vitally important that the safe and secure operations of nuclear facilities in this domain deserve not to be affected or disrupted in any way. “
5:00 a. m. In response to the Russian attack, Indian Prime Minister Narfinishra Modi spoke by phone with Putin to call for “an early end to the violence,” according to the minister’s office. Read here.
4:50 a. m. The President of the United States. U. S. President Joe Biden announces new sanctions against Russia in the wake of the invasion, to cripple the country’s ability to do business with the world and ultimately force the Russian president to turn the tide. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will suffer the consequences,” Biden said at a news conference. Read here.
Thursday, February 24
23:15 Leaders of the Group of Seven Advanced Economies hold emergency virtual meeting, agreeing to propose “severe and coordinated economic and monetary sanctions” against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
“This crisis is a serious risk to the rules-based foreign order, with ramifications far beyond Europe,” they said in a joint statement issued after the summit. “We call on the Russian Federation to avoid bloodshed, without delay deactivate and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. “Read here.
11. 00 pm. As it develops in Ukraine, Asia, Taiwan claims to have sent jet aircraft to Chinese aircraft access to its air defense zone.
21:05 The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine informs Chinese citizens there that, given the immediate deterioration of the situation, the Embassy is renting planes to bring citizens back in batches. The deadline to apply for a position is Feb. 27 at midnight.
21:01 In Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opening remarks on the Ukrainian conflict, he says: “We, the army’s operation, is unacceptable and we reject it. “
“This measure is against the law and is a blow to the peace, tranquility and stability of the region,” Erdogan said in a televised speech, adding: “We are saddened that Russia and Ukraine, two friendly countries with which we have close political ties. “, economic and social relations. relations, shock”.
17:10 “Whether or not Putin deepens the crisis with a new attack of surprise and concern to replace the regime in Kiev or makes the decision to consolidate his conquests in southeastern Ukraine, there will be a number of significant effects in Asia,” writes Admiral James. Stavridis, nato’s sixteenth supreme allied commander. Read their editorial here.
12:02 p. m. Putin addresses Russians in a televised speech, claiming that a “special army operation” is underway in Ukraine. He says the purpose is to occupy the country but “demilitarize it. “