Update(10:53amET): Russia's military is urging civilians to leave areas near Ukrainian army bases and communications facilities in Kiev, warning that it is now conducting strikes against these specified targets.
"In order to suppress information attacks against Russia, the technological facilities of the SBU and the 72nd main PSO center in Kyiv will be hit with high-precision weapons," the Russian MoD statement said according to TASS. "We call on Ukrainian citizens attracted by Ukrainian nationalists to carry out provocations against Russia, as well as residents of Kyiv living near relay nodes leave their homes."
Based on widely circulating footage, it appears the invading Russian forces have begun to take out communications towers and antennas, as well as Ukrainian military infrastructure - also amid continuing reports that residential areas are increasingly under threat amid the siege of Kiev. Recommended Videos Duration 0:33 / Current Time 0:19 Wall Street Bounces, After Selloff Fed Boosts Liquidity NOW PLAYING China’s Companies Have Worst Quarter on Record, Beige Book Says U.S.-Saudi Oil Alliance Under Consideration, Brouillette Says ETF Volumes Surge in Current Market Environment Investors Have Given Up on a V-Shaped Recovery, BNY's Young Cautions
A massive TV tower in Kiev has been hit, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirming of some national broadcasts:
"The channels will not work for a while," the ministry said in its statement. "The backup broadcasting of some channels will be enabled in the near future."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has meanwhile appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to "strip Russia" of its membership on the UNHRC. According to the AFP, Blinken said:
Putin success in ousting Ukraine government would see rights, humanitarian crises 'only get worse', Blinken tells UN rights council
US defense officials on Tuesday said they believe Russia's advance on Kiev has been slowing due to fuel and supply challenges.
There's been confusion over the prior reported EU jets to Ukraine...
For the past week there have also been conflicting reports as to the degree of Belarus' active participation on the ground in Russia's invasion:
MILITARY UNITS HAVE MOVED FROM BASES BUT COUNTRY COULD MOBILISE IN 2-3 DAYS IN EVENT OF DANGER - RIA CITES BELTA LUKASHENKO SAYS NO BELARUS MILITARY UNITS HAVE MOVED FROM BASES BUT COUNTRY COULD MOBILISE IN 2-3 DAYS IN EVENT OF DANGER - RIA CITES BELTA
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"Kyiv is special. If we protect Kyiv, we will protect the state. This is the heart of our country, and it must keep beating," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. He gave a stirring video address to European parliament, the day after he signed a formal application for Ukraine seeking EU membership.
"Our people are motivated and we are fighting for freedoms and our lives," Zelensky said. "We are fighting for our survival," he added while urging the body to "prove" that they stand with Ukraine. This as he's urging both NATO and the US to impose a No-Fly Zone, an appeal which both so far have rejected.
Satellite imagery being widely reported on Tuesday morning suggests a massive column of Russian infantry many miles in length is now en route ready to bear down to the Ukrainian capital. Estimates as to its size have varied, but there's consensus it's at least many, possibly dozens of miles, long.
CNN describes it as "A massive 40-mile-long Russian military convoy — made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles — has reached the outskirts of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies."
Kiev officials have said the city has erected fortifications, while much of the civilian population has sought the safety of shelters or underground bunkers ahead of what's expected to be a large-scale final Russian assault, also after two other large cities have in the past days come under heavy rocket barrage and shelling.
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