The worst-case scenario happened in Ukraine. On Thursday night, Russia launched a massive and rapid attack on Ukraine, bombarding several major cities. Vladimir Putin decided to invade, despite international sanctions. The fighting continued overnight from Thursday to Friday. 20 minutes remakes you the film of this night.
Between midnight and 2 a.m.
As the bombardments continue, Kiev tried to measure the extent of the threat last night. The Ukrainian Ministry of Armies estimated the number of Russian soldiers on its territory between 45,000 and 90,000 men, which represents between a quarter and a half of the Russian troops that had been massed on the border. In the hope of repelling them, Ukraine announced a general mobilization. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave the country. They can no longer legally cross the borders of Ukraine, according to a message from the head of customs in Lviv, a city in the west of the country.
Between 2 and 4 a.m.
Shelling continued to rain down on the capital and at least one apartment building caught fire. A huge explosion lit up the night sky over Kiev around 3 a.m. “Strikes against Kiev with cruise or ballistic missiles have resumed. I heard two loud explosions,” confirmed Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko.
On the French side, Emmanuel Macron clarified the decisions taken following the G7 summit and the extraordinary meeting of the European Council. In a succession of messages published on Twitter around 3:30 a.m., the Head of State recalled the decision to impose sanctions “on individuals, on the financial, energy, transport and export sectors, on visas” and specified that “the regime Belarusian, accomplice, will also be targeted”. In total, European aid to Ukraine amounts to “1.2 billion euros”, specified the Head of State.
Between 4 and 6 a.m.
A plane was shot down over the Ukrainian capital. The information remained confused on Friday, with some sources claiming that it was a Russian plane shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense, others the opposite. The debris of the machine whose nationality is not established caused great damage to apartment buildings in Kiev.
In the capital but also in Kharkiv, the second city of the country, the inhabitants massed in the metro stations, in the hope of escaping the bombardments of Moscow. In Lviv, near the Polish border, anti-bombing sirens sounded at dawn.
Meanwhile, the Russian ground army continued its devastating advance. The Moscow tanks, which arrived via Belarus, were only 30 km from Kiev around 5 a.m., according to the American secretary of defense to Ukrainian elected officials.
Between 6 and 8 hours
Ukraine has taken a drastic decision in the hope of slowing down the Russian armor arriving from the north and west: to destroy the bridges near Kiev. At least two bridges were destroyed near the Ukrainian capital overnight.
A little after 6 a.m., sirens sounded in the country’s capital, urging civilians to hunker down in their homes. The authorities have been clear to citizens in a message on Telegram: this is not a drill. Russian troops were approaching Kiev: they are now in the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the death of at least 137 of his fellow citizens since the start of the Russian invasion. Another 316 Ukrainians were injured, he added. The head of state accused Russia of having bombed the capital in the night, however this allegation has not yet been independently proven.