Ukraine’s capital under threat as Russia presses invasion

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with explosions and gunfire sounding in the city as  the invasion of a democratic country fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Moscow stop.

With reports of hundreds of casualties from the warfare  — including shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools — there also were growing signs that Vladimir Putin’s Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government. It would be his boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.

NATO  decided  to send parts of the alliance’s response force to help protect its member nations in the east for the first time. NATO didn’t say how many troops would be deployed but added it would involve land, sea and air power. 

With a military intervention in Ukraine off the table, and countries around the world looking to heap more financial punishment on Moscow, the United States, Britain and European Union said Friday they will move to sanction Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The EU’s unanimous decision, part of a broader sanctions package, indicated that Western powers are moving toward unprecedented measures to try to force Putin to stop the brutal invasion of Russia’s neighbor and from unleashing a major war in Europe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also told NATO leaders during a call Friday that Britain would move to impose sanctions against Putin and Lavrov. The EU said it would move to freeze Putin’s assets.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated the U.S. sanctions will include a travel ban. President Joe Biden, who had previously said sanctions targeting Putin were under consideration, decided to make the move in the last 24 hours after talks with European leaders.

Psaki said the move is intended send “a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions” by the West against President Putin.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the move would be “a unique step in history toward a nuclear power, a country that has a permanent seat on the Security Council, but also shows … how united we are.” 

The EU and other Western powers like the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed on a slew of sanctions targeting sectors from Russia’s banking sector to its oil refineries and defense industry. 

And just as Russia was making a pincer movement to choke Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv, Western powers were implementing measures aimed at “asphyxiating Russia’s economy,” in the words of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Seeking to buttress its eastern flank, the NATO alliance held a virtual summit of government leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, later Friday.

In terms unheard since the Cold War, threats were flying from all sides and ran through society. 

In a sign of papal anger, Pope Francis went to the Russian Embassy himself to “express his concern about the war,” the Vatican said. It was an extraordinary, hands-on gesture, since usually popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis, the Vatican head of state, to leave the city state and travel a short distance to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See was a sign of his displeasure.

In the fog of war, it was unclear how much of Ukraine is still under Ukrainian control and how much or little Russian forces have seized. The Kremlin accepted Kyiv’s offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of embattled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution.