LVIV, Ukraine — The United States plans to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Friday, as Russian forces pressed closer to the Ukrainian capital Friday.
The announcement came after E.U. foreign ministers agreed to freeze the assets of Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amid continued rocket attacks in Kyiv, where air raid sirens blared, people huddled for shelter in subway stations and a residential building was hit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a defiant video from Kyiv in which he said that he and his government were “defending our independence” from the Russian invasion. A senior U.S. defense official said Friday that the Russian military has lost momentum in its offensive, while cautioning that this could change in the coming days.
Here’s what to know
- Putin has called on Ukraine’s armed forces to “take power” from Zelensky and a group in Kyiv that the Russian president described as “neo-Nazis.”
- Radiation levels at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site in Ukraine remain in a safe range after Russian forces captured the facility Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
- Russia announced a “partial restriction” of access to Facebook after reporting that the social media network had taken action against the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media outlets over their coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The Council of Europe, the continent’s main human-rights watchdog, suspended Russia’s representation rights in the organization’s decision-making body and debate forum.
- More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in less than 48 hours, mostly to Poland and Moldova, according to the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi.
UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT
Russian forces say they are leading attacks on Kharkiv from Belgorod
By Mary Ilyushina5:00 p.m.
BELGOROD — Russian military vehicles have been going in and out a checkpoint near Oktyabrsky village on a highway leading to Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, less than 40 miles away.
Washington Post journalist observed a howitzer, armored personnel carriers, and cargo trucks lined up on the side roads around the checkpoint.
Several ambulances were also moving to and from the checkpoint, hinting at potential losses or injuries Russian military personnel may be suffering as they conduct a large-scale offensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied it had any casualties after the first two days of an attack on Ukraine. The UK Ukrainian military officials countered this claim by saying they estimate Russian losses to be at nearly 500 people. Anna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, put the number even higher, at around 2,800.
The Belgorod region serves as a staging area for Russia’s missile attacks.
Locals said they heard consistent booms starting early Thursday morning, and that continued into Friday night. CNN crew on the ground live broadcast multiple salvo shots fired across the woods into Kharkiv area on Thursday.
Vicious fighting that took place shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announcement of “special military operation” left areas around Kharkiv damaged, with images emerging of burned-out Russian troop carriers left on the roads.
Conti ransomware gang vows to retaliate for any cyberattack against Russia
Conti, one of the most active Russia-based ransomware groups, pledged its “full support” Friday for Moscow in a statement on its website.
“If anybody will decide to organize a cyberattack or any war activities against Russia, we are going to use our all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures of an enemy,” said the statement in English.
The announcement erased any doubt that Russian criminal gangs will throw in with Moscow in the conflict with Ukraine and the west.
“The question of whether the Conti ransomware gang was aligned w/ the RU govt may have answered itself, as Conti just ‘officially’ pledged to strike back at the critical infrastructure of anyone that attacks Russia (cyber or otherwise),” tweeted Christopher Krebs, former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“Not unexpected,” he added.
Russia has long given safe harbor to Russian criminal gangs such as Conti, which was responsible for more than 400 ransomware attacks last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
A typical ransomware attack involves locking up a victim’s computer with malware that encrypts data, and demanding a payment to unlock the data. Sometimes the hackers also threaten to publish the data if the ransom is not paid.
Previous ransomware attacks by these groups have disrupted computer systems of critical infrastructure impacting hospital systems and knocking emergency dispatch services offline.
After President Biden announced a “first tranche” of sanctions on Russian banks and elites Tuesday, a senior FBI official advised U.S. businesses and local governments to be alert to the potential for ransomware attacks as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia deepened, according to a report by CNN.
U.S. officials continue to say there are “no specific, credible” threats to the homeland tied to the crisis, but they urge vigilance.
Second day of attacks has been more ‘brutal,’ Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. says
Russian troops escalated their assault on Ukraine on Friday but did not advance as planned, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. Oksana Markarova said that her country’s prosecutor general was collecting evidence of alleged war crimes for international tribunals.
“The second day was even harder,” Markarova told reporters. “The attacks have been more brutal.”
Markarova said Moscow’s forces have targeted civilians, including homes, ambulances and an orphanage. Roughly 50 children at the orphanage when the shelling occurred were not harmed, she said.
Markarova thanked protesters in Russia for opposing their nation’s war and the United States for sanctioning Moscow.
“We also heard from President Biden that it’s a first wave of the strong sanctions package,” she said. “So our reaction has been — voiced by our president right away — we’re very thankful for these very strong sanctions that will be heard and felt in Russia, and we look forward to the next waves.”
Ukraine remains ready for peace negotiations, Markarova said, but will not “capitulate or surrender” as Russian soldiers press closer to Kyiv.
“Kyiv has been Ukrainian for the past couple of thousand years,” she said. “And we intend to keep it for the next couple of thousand years.”
Local staff of U.S. Embassy in Ukraine appeal for American help
Local employees of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv made an appeal for urgent American assistance this week, accusing the U.S. government of abandoning them when they most need help following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a letter representing 618 local employees of Embassy Kyiv, a local staff committee said they had received no communication from the State Department in the hours following Russia’s launch of missile strikes on the capital Kyiv and other cities. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the letter.
There was “no word from the leadership, which yesterday claimed that they care about our safety,” the committee wrote in its letter to the State Department, which was first reported by Foreign Policy.
The State Department pulled all American staff out of the Kyiv embassy earlier this month in anticipation of the Russian assault on Ukraine.
The pleas of those left behind echo what occurred following the shuttering of U.S. embassies in Afghanistan and Yemen, where local employees of U.S. embassies pleaded for assistance and complained of being vulnerable to reprisal for their work with the American government.
The letter laid out a series of demands, such as assistance departing Ukraine, including by providing vehicle transport out of the country; help establishing temporary assignments in other countries; financial support at a time when Ukrainians are queuing at ATMs and banks; and more clear guidance from the State Department as employees seek to navigate a frightening, quickly evolving situation.
State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about the letter during a media briefing on Friday, said the United States had tried to provide as much relevant information to local staff as it could. He said the United States had not seen indications that Russia would seek to target embassy staff specifically.
“We are exploring all legal options available to us that would enable us to support them,” he said.
French finance minister says cutting off Russia from Swift financial system is ‘last resort’
PARIS — French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday that cutting off Russia from the Swift global payment system would be an option of “last resort.”
Eastern European countries have backed such a measure, which could pose severe harm to the Russian economy but would have major implications for some Western companies. A number of European nations with significant trade ties to Russia had cautioned against targeting Swift in the next set of sanctions.
Swift — short for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication — is a key mechanism for facilitating cross-border trade, allowing banks to rapidly communicate with one another. Being cut off from that system would make it more difficult for Russian entities to process transactions.
On Thursday, President Biden said Swift was not part of the current sanctions plan because “that’s not the position the rest of Europe chooses to take.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not directly respond to a question about Swift on Thursday night but said it was important to adopt the sanctions that had been discussed for weeks and to “retain everything else for a situation in which it’s necessary to do more.”
Speaking to reporters Friday morning next to his German counterpart, Le Maire said E.U. sanctions would “hit a number of strategic sectors,” including transportation, aerospace, the semiconductor industry and the Russian financial system.
“We want to financially isolate Russia. We want to cut all links between Russia and the global financial system,” he said.
Video: Key moments from second day of Russian invasion of Ukraine
Residents of Kyiv filmed explosions that lit up the night sky. The following morning, Post reporters sheltered from explosions in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Hundreds of Ukrainians were stuck at the border with Poland looking to escape the country, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky filmed a video in Kyiv, saying he was among those continuing to defend the capital city.
U.S. will join E.U. in sanctioning Putin and Lavrov, White House says
The United States will join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
“Following a telephone conversation President Biden held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and in alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team,” Psaki said at a regular news briefing. “I expect we will have more specific details out later this afternoon.”
Earlier Friday, E.U. foreign ministers agreed to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, the first time the two men have been targeted personally by such measures. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that the United Kingdom will introduce sanctions against Putin and Lavrov “imminently,” although he didn’t give details on what form the sanctions will take.
It was not immediately clear which assets — and in which countries — the Biden administration plans to target. Psaki declined to address the specifics of Putin’s assets on Friday, telling reporters only that the move “sends a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions by President Putin and the direction in his leadership of the Russian military.”
A travel ban will likely be part of the U.S. sanctions, Psaki added.
Emily Rauhala and Michael Birnbaum contributed to this report.
Video shows bridge destroyed near Kyiv reportedly to stall Russians
Video shared to social media early Friday morning shows people scrambling over a bridge destroyed on the northwest outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. The bridge is about 12 miles from the center of Kyiv.
According to Associated Press correspondent Francesca Ebel, who posted the video, the bridge was blown by Ukrainian forces to prevent Russian tanks from advancing.
Kyiv experienced predawn explosions Friday as Russian forces continued their attack. Russian forces continued to bomb neighborhoods to the north of the city, Ebel reported.
E.U. will freeze assets of Putin, Lavrov in retaliation for Ukraine invasion
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers agreed Friday to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the first time the two men have been targeted personally by such measures.
The decision, part of a larger round of sanctions approved to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, probably won’t be the last step taken against the Kremlin during the conflict, policymakers said.
It wasn’t clear how many E.U.-based assets the two men control, and E.U. foreign policy officials said that it would take some technical work to target the sanctions properly. Neither man will be barred from traveling to the European Union, a step that in some ways would have been more concrete but could also have complicated any diplomatic settlement to the escalating violence that Russia is inflicting on its neighbor.
“Russia needs to see that it’s going to be isolated from the international community,” said E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, announcing the measures in Brussels on Friday.
NATO activates response force for first time, prompted by Russia’s Ukraine invasion
NATO will deploy troops from an alliance response force for the first time, as the Western military bloc seeks to respond with strength to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did not provide specific figures but said “thousands of troops” would be deployed to countries as part of the response force’s activation. He said troops would come from France, Germany, the United States and other countries.
“There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding,” he told reporters in Brussels. “We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of NATO territory.”
Stoltenberg said the United States, Canada and European countries had already moved thousands of troops to Eastern Europe and put more than 100 planes on alert. More than 120 ships are operating from northern Europe to the Mediterranean.
He said the number of troops activated under the response force would be less than its total size, some 40,000 members, and noted the deployment would include some troops assigned to a special “high readiness” task force. The response force was declared operational in 2006 and enlarged after 2014.
Speaking following a meeting of NATO leaders on Friday, Stoltenberg said NATO would stand by Ukraine, whose aspiration to join the alliance was cited by Moscow as a threat to Russian security in the lead-up to this week’s assault.
Stoltenberg said the NATO leaders also discussed plans for ongoing military support to Ukraine, including air defense equipment. He provided no further details.
The deployments are designed in large part to reassure NATO members in Eastern Europe that have been alarmed by Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said the gravity of the moment went beyond Ukraine. “This is about how Russia is actually challenging, contesting, core values for our security and demanding that NATO should withdraw all forces and infrastructure from almost half of our members,” threatening “military-technical” consequences should that not occur, he said.
Some of the response force elements are already operational, and some can move within days, he said.
Russia moves to ‘partially’ restrict access to Facebook
Russia on Friday announced a “partial restriction” of access to Facebook after reporting the social media network had taken action against the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media outlets over their coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Internet regulator Roskomnadzor demanded that Facebook lift the blocks placed Thursday on several outlets, including state news agency RIA Novosti and state TV network Zvezda, affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.
Roskomnadzor explained its move as “measures to protect the Russian media,” and along with the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office, accused Facebook of “violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian nationals.”
The “partial restriction” of Facebook takes immediate effect. However, the regulator did not provide details on what the measures would include.
Zvezda said Facebook imposed restrictions on its page after the posting of two news articles, “Russian Defense Ministry: Air Defense Forces of Ukraine Suppressed” and “The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military border services of Ukraine are not resisting.” The network said the restrictions relate to how Zvezda articles appeared, lower in the Facebook feeds so that fewer users can see them.
Facebook’s head of global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg tweeted that Russian authorities restricted the use of the company’s services, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, after the company had labeled and fact-checked content from four state-owned media organizations.
The Russian government, Clegg wrote, had asked the company to stop fact-checking, and the company refused, so the government retaliated by restricting access.
Facebook executives have long known this was a risk, said Brian Fishman, the former Facebook executive and counterterrorism expert in charge of preventing dangerous organizations from proliferating on the service.
Last year, Roskomnadzor slowed down the speed of Twitter, accusing the U.S. social media company of failing to remove what it considered banned content, leading to issues with accessing video and photos posted on the network.
Facebook, Twitter and other Western social media platforms are widely used by the Kremlin’s opponents, including Alexei Navalny, who has been jailed since January 2021 upon returning to Russia after treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia.
For several years, Russia and its Internet regulator tried to pressure foreign tech firms to comply with its increasingly strict rules on what it deems illegal content — particularly apps, websites, posts and videos related to demonstrations organized by Navalny or his network, which has been labeled as extremist in the country.
Google was fined nearly $100 million for these violations in December, the largest such penalty yet in the country.
As Russians advance on Kyiv, ordinary civilians heed calls to fight for Ukraine however they can
As Russian forces advance on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, people all over the country are being urged by officials — and sometimes compelled by necessity — to fight back in whatever ways they can.
The country’s former president is patrolling the city streets with a civilian defense force, armed with an AK-47. Civilians have been called to find their own weapons and make molotov cocktails — a type of crude, homemade explosive.
About 18,000 weapons have already been distributed in the Kyiv region, according to the government. At the country’s borders, Ukrainian guards have been stopping vehicles, looking for men between the ages of 18 and 60 who can help in the fight.
In fact, almost anyone who wants to fight for Ukraine is welcome. “If you have combat experience in Europe, come to our country and defend Europe together with us,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video statement on Friday.
How the invasion of Ukraine scrambles U.S. energy politics
The Ukraine invasion and Russia’s influence on global oil and natural gas markets is upending U.S. domestic energy politics.
What is good for motorists — such as temporarily eliminating the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax — isn’t good climate policy, as it encourages people to drive more. What’s good for homeowners — lower natural gas prices and fewer liquefied natural gas exports — makes it harder to rush supplies abroad to help Europe fend off gas shortages. And what was convenient for lawmakers — selling off part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to raise revenue and hide deficits — doesn’t look so appealing today.
“From Reagan forward, gasoline prices go up, approval ratings go down and vice versa pretty reliably,” said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, a consulting firm. “It’s been true for four decades.”
Ukrainian croons her country’s national anthem as she cleans up debris
After her mother’s building was hit by a rocket on Friday, Kyiv resident Katya decided to stay and clean up the dwelling, Reuters reported.
She sang the Ukrainian national anthem as she swept away shards of glass, crooning from the window overlooking the desolate city. The scene was captured on video by a Reuters journalist. It identified her only by her first name.
What should have been a day to celebrate her emerging pastry business was one filled with defiant sorrow. Her mother’s home was one of the 33 civilian locations that Russia bombed when it began its attack on Ukraine, officials said.
“Long live Ukraine,” she said with watery eyes, looking at the devastation below her.
11:48 a.m.
KYIV, Ukraine — As sirens blared in the streets of Kyiv, signaling that residents should head to underground bunkers, Washington Post journalists headed to their hotel’s basement where staff and their families were also sheltering. There, hotel workers served up heaping plates of spaghetti bolognese and Greek salad — a welcome surprise considering the restaurant is closed and supplies are dwindling.With a shortage of plates, some guests shared, and others took turns waiting for plates or silverware to be washed. One man handed out pieces of carpet for guests to put over the cold tile floor. The elderly and children have been given priority for seating. Afterward, a jovial hotel staffer walked around mopping up spilled sauce and lettuce.The shared sense of camaraderie in the basement bunker was a glimmer of light in an otherwise dark time.
Siobhán O’Grady
,
Cairo bureau chief
LVIV, Ukraine — The United States plans to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Friday, as Russian forces pressed closer to the Ukrainian capital Friday.The announcement came after E.U. foreign ministers agreed to freeze the assets of Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amid continued rocket attacks in Kyiv, where air raid sirens blared, people huddled for shelter in subway stations and a residential building was hit.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a defiant video from Kyiv in which he said that he and his government were “defending our independence” from the Russian invasion. A senior U.S. defense official said Friday that the Russian military has lost momentum in its offensive, while cautioning that this could change in the coming days. Here’s what to knowPutin has called on Ukraine’s armed forces to “take power” from Zelensky and a group in Kyiv that the Russian president described as “neo-Nazis.”Radiation levels at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site in Ukraine remain in a safe range after Russian forces captured the facility Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.Russia announced a “partial restriction” of access to Facebook after reporting that the social media network had taken action against the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media outlets over their coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.The Council of Europe, the continent’s main human-rights watchdog, suspended Russia’s representation rights in the organization’s decision-making body and debate forum.More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in less than 48 hours, mostly to Poland and Moldova, according to the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi.UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICTRussian forces say they are leading attacks on Kharkiv from BelgorodReturn to menuBy Mary Ilyushina5:00 p.m.BELGOROD — Russian military vehicles have been going in and out a checkpoint near Oktyabrsky village on a highway leading to Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, less than 40 miles away.Washington Post journalist observed a howitzer, armored personnel carriers, and cargo trucks lined up on the side roads around the checkpoint.Several ambulances were also moving to and from the checkpoint, hinting at potential losses or injuries Russian military personnel may be suffering as they conduct a large-scale offensive.The Russian Defense Ministry denied it had any casualties after the first two days of an attack on Ukraine. The UK Ukrainian military officials countered this claim by saying they estimate Russian losses to be at nearly 500 people. Anna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, put the number even higher, at around 2,800.The Belgorod region serves as a staging area for Russia’s missile attacks. Locals said they heard consistent booms starting early Thursday morning, and that continued into Friday night. CNN crew on the ground live broadcast multiple salvo shots fired across the woods into Kharkiv area on Thursday. Vicious fighting that took place shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announcement of “special military operation” left areas around Kharkiv damaged, with images emerging of burned-out Russian troop carriers left on the roads.Updates continue below advertisementConti ransomware gang vows to retaliate for any cyberattack against RussiaReturn to menuConti, one of the most active Russia-based ransomware groups, pledged its “full support” Friday for Moscow in a statement on its website.“If anybody will decide to organize a cyberattack or any war activities against Russia, we are going to use our all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures of an enemy,” said the statement in English.The announcement erased any doubt that Russian criminal gangs will throw in with Moscow in the conflict with Ukraine and the west.“The question of whether the Conti ransomware gang was aligned w/ the RU govt may have answered itself, as Conti just ‘officially’ pledged to strike back at the critical infrastructure of anyone that attacks Russia (cyber or otherwise),” tweeted Christopher Krebs, former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.“Not unexpected,” he added.Russia has long given safe harbor to Russian criminal gangs such as Conti, which was responsible for more than 400 ransomware attacks last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.A typical ransomware attack involves locking up a victim’s computer with malware that encrypts data, and demanding a payment to unlock the data. Sometimes the hackers also threaten to publish the data if the ransom is not paid.Previous ransomware attacks by these groups have disrupted computer systems of critical infrastructure impacting hospital systems and knocking emergency dispatch services offline.After President Biden announced a “first tranche” of sanctions on Russian banks and elites Tuesday, a senior FBI official advised U.S. businesses and local governments to be alert to the potential for ransomware attacks as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia deepened, according to a report by CNN.U.S. officials continue to say there are “no specific, credible” threats to the homeland tied to the crisis, but they urge vigilance.Updates continue below advertisementSecond day of attacks has been more ‘brutal,’ Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. saysReturn to menuRussian troops escalated their assault on Ukraine on Friday but did not advance as planned, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. Oksana Markarova said that her country’s prosecutor general was collecting evidence of alleged war crimes for international tribunals.“The second day was even harder,” Markarova told reporters. “The attacks have been more brutal.”Markarova said Moscow’s forces have targeted civilians, including homes, ambulances and an orphanage. Roughly 50 children at the orphanage when the shelling occurred were not harmed, she said.Markarova thanked protesters in Russia for opposing their nation’s war and the United States for sanctioning Moscow.“We also heard from President Biden that it’s a first wave of the strong sanctions package,” she said. “So our reaction has been — voiced by our president right away — we’re very thankful for these very strong sanctions that will be heard and felt in Russia, and we look forward to the next waves.”Ukraine remains ready for peace negotiations, Markarova said, but will not “capitulate or surrender” as Russian soldiers press closer to Kyiv.“Kyiv has been Ukrainian for the past couple of thousand years,” she said. “And we intend to keep it for the next couple of thousand years.”Updates continue below advertisementLocal staff of U.S. Embassy in Ukraine appeal for American helpReturn to menuLocal employees of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv made an appeal for urgent American assistance this week, accusing the U.S. government of abandoning them when they most need help following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.In a letter representing 618 local employees of Embassy Kyiv, a local staff committee said they had received no communication from the State Department in the hours following Russia’s launch of missile strikes on the capital Kyiv and other cities. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the letter.There was “no word from the leadership, which yesterday claimed that they care about our safety,” the committee wrote in its letter to the State Department, which was first reported by Foreign Policy.The State Department pulled all American staff out of the Kyiv embassy earlier this month in anticipation of the Russian assault on Ukraine.The pleas of those left behind echo what occurred following the shuttering of U.S. embassies in Afghanistan and Yemen, where local employees of U.S. embassies pleaded for assistance and complained of being vulnerable to reprisal for their work with the American government.The letter laid out a series of demands, such as assistance departing Ukraine, including by providing vehicle transport out of the country; help establishing temporary assignments in other countries; financial support at a time when Ukrainians are queuing at ATMs and banks; and more clear guidance from the State Department as employees seek to navigate a frightening, quickly evolving situation.State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about the letter during a media briefing on Friday, said the United States had tried to provide as much relevant information to local staff as it could. He said the United States had not seen indications that Russia would seek to target embassy staff specifically.“We are exploring all legal options available to us that would enable us to support them,” he said.Updates continue below advertisementFrench finance minister says cutting off Russia from Swift financial system is ‘last resort’Return to menuPARIS — French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday that cutting off Russia from the Swift global payment system would be an option of “last resort.”Eastern European countries have backed such a measure, which could pose severe harm to the Russian economy but would have major implications for some Western companies. A number of European nations with significant trade ties to Russia had cautioned against targeting Swift in the next set of sanctions.Swift — short for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication — is a key mechanism for facilitating cross-border trade, allowing banks to rapidly communicate with one another. Being cut off from that system would make it more difficult for Russian entities to process transactions.On Thursday, President Biden said Swift was not part of the current sanctions plan because “that’s not the position the rest of Europe chooses to take.”German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not directly respond to a question about Swift on Thursday night but said it was important to adopt the sanctions that had been discussed for weeks and to “retain everything else for a situation in which it’s necessary to do more.”Speaking to reporters Friday morning next to his German counterpart, Le Maire said E.U. sanctions would “hit a number of strategic sectors,” including transportation, aerospace, the semiconductor industry and the Russian financial system.“We want to financially isolate Russia. We want to cut all links between Russia and the global financial system,” he said.Updates continue below advertisementVideo: Key moments from second day of Russian invasion of UkraineReturn to menuFor a second day, explosions were heard and felt in Ukraine as Russia continued its country-wide attack on Feb. 25. (Alexa Juliana Ard/The Washington Post)Residents of Kyiv filmed explosions that lit up the night sky. The following morning, Post reporters sheltered from explosions in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Hundreds of Ukrainians were stuck at the border with Poland looking to escape the country, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky filmed a video in Kyiv, saying he was among those continuing to defend the capital city.Updates continue below advertisementU.S. will join E.U. in sanctioning Putin and Lavrov, White House saysReturn to menuThe United States will join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.“Following a telephone conversation President Biden held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and in alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team,” Psaki said at a regular news briefing. “I expect we will have more specific details out later this afternoon.”Earlier Friday, E.U. foreign ministers agreed to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, the first time the two men have been targeted personally by such measures. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that the United Kingdom will introduce sanctions against Putin and Lavrov “imminently,” although he didn’t give details on what form the sanctions will take.It was not immediately clear which assets — and in which countries — the Biden administration plans to target. Psaki declined to address the specifics of Putin’s assets on Friday, telling reporters only that the move “sends a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions by President Putin and the direction in his leadership of the Russian military.”A travel ban will likely be part of the U.S. sanctions, Psaki added.Emily Rauhala and Michael Birnbaum contributed to this report.Updates continue below advertisementVideo shows bridge destroyed near Kyiv reportedly to stall Russians Return to menuPeople scrambled over a bombed bridge on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Video shared to social media early Friday morning shows people scrambling over a bridge destroyed on the northwest outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. The bridge is about 12 miles from the center of Kyiv.According to Associated Press correspondent Francesca Ebel, who posted the video, the bridge was blown by Ukrainian forces to prevent Russian tanks from advancing.Kyiv experienced predawn explosions Friday as Russian forces continued their attack. Russian forces continued to bomb neighborhoods to the north of the city, Ebel reported.Updates continue below advertisementE.U. will freeze assets of Putin, Lavrov in retaliation for Ukraine invasionReturn to menuBRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers agreed Friday to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the first time the two men have been targeted personally by such measures.The decision, part of a larger round of sanctions approved to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, probably won’t be the last step taken against the Kremlin during the conflict, policymakers said.It wasn’t clear how many E.U.-based assets the two men control, and E.U. foreign policy officials said that it would take some technical work to target the sanctions properly. Neither man will be barred from traveling to the European Union, a step that in some ways would have been more concrete but could also have complicated any diplomatic settlement to the escalating violence that Russia is inflicting on its neighbor.“Russia needs to see that it’s going to be isolated from the international community,” said E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, announcing the measures in Brussels on Friday.NATO activates response force for first time, prompted by Russia’s Ukraine invasionReturn to menuNATO will deploy troops from an alliance response force for the first time, as the Western military bloc seeks to respond with strength to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did not provide specific figures but said “thousands of troops” would be deployed to countries as part of the response force’s activation. He said troops would come from France, Germany, the United States and other countries.“There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding,” he told reporters in Brussels. “We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of NATO territory.”Stoltenberg said the United States, Canada and European countries had already moved thousands of troops to Eastern Europe and put more than 100 planes on alert. More than 120 ships are operating from northern Europe to the Mediterranean.He said the number of troops activated under the response force would be less than its total size, some 40,000 members, and noted the deployment would include some troops assigned to a special “high readiness” task force. The response force was declared operational in 2006 and enlarged after 2014.Speaking following a meeting of NATO leaders on Friday, Stoltenberg said NATO would stand by Ukraine, whose aspiration to join the alliance was cited by Moscow as a threat to Russian security in the lead-up to this week’s assault.Stoltenberg said the NATO leaders also discussed plans for ongoing military support to Ukraine, including air defense equipment. He provided no further details.The deployments are designed in large part to reassure NATO members in Eastern Europe that have been alarmed by Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Stoltenberg said the gravity of the moment went beyond Ukraine. “This is about how Russia is actually challenging, contesting, core values for our security and demanding that NATO should withdraw all forces and infrastructure from almost half of our members,” threatening “military-technical” consequences should that not occur, he said.Some of the response force elements are already operational, and some can move within days, he said.Russia moves to ‘partially’ restrict access to FacebookReturn to menuRussia on Friday announced a “partial restriction” of access to Facebook after reporting the social media network had taken action against the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media outlets over their coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.Russian Internet regulator Roskomnadzor demanded that Facebook lift the blocks placed Thursday on several outlets, including state news agency RIA Novosti and state TV network Zvezda, affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.Roskomnadzor explained its move as “measures to protect the Russian media,” and along with the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office, accused Facebook of “violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian nationals.”The “partial restriction” of Facebook takes immediate effect. However, the regulator did not provide details on what the measures would include.Zvezda said Facebook imposed restrictions on its page after the posting of two news articles, “Russian Defense Ministry: Air Defense Forces of Ukraine Suppressed” and “The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military border services of Ukraine are not resisting.” The network said the restrictions relate to how Zvezda articles appeared, lower in the Facebook feeds so that fewer users can see them.Facebook’s head of global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg tweeted that Russian authorities restricted the use of the company’s services, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, after the company had labeled and fact-checked content from four state-owned media organizations.The Russian government, Clegg wrote, had asked the company to stop fact-checking, and the company refused, so the government retaliated by restricting access.Facebook executives have long known this was a risk, said Brian Fishman, the former Facebook executive and counterterrorism expert in charge of preventing dangerous organizations from proliferating on the service.Last year, Roskomnadzor slowed down the speed of Twitter, accusing the U.S. social media company of failing to remove what it considered banned content, leading to issues with accessing video and photos posted on the network.Facebook, Twitter and other Western social media platforms are widely used by the Kremlin’s opponents, including Alexei Navalny, who has been jailed since January 2021 upon returning to Russia after treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia.For several years, Russia and its Internet regulator tried to pressure foreign tech firms to comply with its increasingly strict rules on what it deems illegal content — particularly apps, websites, posts and videos related to demonstrations organized by Navalny or his network, which has been labeled as extremist in the country.Google was fined nearly $100 million for these violations in December, the largest such penalty yet in the country.As Russians advance on Kyiv, ordinary civilians heed calls to fight for Ukraine however they canReturn to menuAs Russian forces advance on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, people all over the country are being urged by officials — and sometimes compelled by necessity — to fight back in whatever ways they can.The country’s former president is patrolling the city streets with a civilian defense force, armed with an AK-47. Civilians have been called to find their own weapons and make molotov cocktails — a type of crude, homemade explosive.About 18,000 weapons have already been distributed in the Kyiv region, according to the government. At the country’s borders, Ukrainian guards have been stopping vehicles, looking for men between the ages of 18 and 60 who can help in the fight.In fact, almost anyone who wants to fight for Ukraine is welcome. “If you have combat experience in Europe, come to our country and defend Europe together with us,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video statement on Friday.How the invasion of Ukraine scrambles U.S. energy politics Return to menuThe Ukraine invasion and Russia’s influence on global oil and natural gas markets is upending U.S. domestic energy politics.What is good for motorists — such as temporarily eliminating the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax — isn’t good climate policy, as it encourages people to drive more. What’s good for homeowners — lower natural gas prices and fewer liquefied natural gas exports — makes it harder to rush supplies abroad to help Europe fend off gas shortages. And what was convenient for lawmakers — selling off part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to raise revenue and hide deficits — doesn’t look so appealing today.“From Reagan forward, gasoline prices go up, approval ratings go down and vice versa pretty reliably,” said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, a consulting firm. “It’s been true for four decades.”Ukrainian croons her country’s national anthem as she cleans up debrisReturn to menuA Kyiv woman sang the Ukrainian national anthem as she cleaned up broken glass in her mother’s apartment. The building was hit by a rocket on Feb. 25. (Casey Silvestri/The Washington Post)After her mother’s building was hit by a rocket on Friday, Kyiv resident Katya decided to stay and clean up the dwelling, Reuters reported.She sang the Ukrainian national anthem as she swept away shards of glass, crooning from the window overlooking the desolate city. The scene was captured on video by a Reuters journalist. It identified her only by her first name.What should have been a day to celebrate her emerging pastry business was one filled with defiant sorrow. Her mother’s home was one of the 33 civilian locations that Russia bombed when it began its attack on Ukraine, officials said.“Long live Ukraine,” she said with watery eyes, looking at the devastation below her.11:48 a.m.Siobhán O’Grady: KYIV, Ukraine — As sirens blared in the streets of Kyiv, signaling that residents should head to underground bunkers, Washington Post journalists headed to their hotel’s basement where staff and their families were also sheltering. There, hotel workers served up heaping plates of spaghetti bolognese and Greek salad — a welcome surprise considering the restaurant is closed and supplies are dwindling.With a shortage of plates, some guests shared, and others took turns waiting for plates or silverware to be washed. One man handed out pieces of carpet for guests to put over the cold tile floor. The elderly and children have been given priority for seating. Afterward, a jovial hotel staffer walked around mopping up spilled sauce and lettuce.The shared sense of camaraderie in the basement bunker was a glimmer of light in an otherwise dark time.Siobhán O’Grady, Cairo bureau chief