Direct attack on the scene: Residents of the Ukrainian capital spend a day in uneasiness
At about 5:00 a.m. local time on the 24th, explosions and the roar of fighter jets were heard over the City of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and air defense sirens were then sounded in the center of Kiev. The sirens, which lasted about 10 minutes, started a day of nervousness in the panic and dazedness of many Kiev residents.
The Kiev municipality issued a statement shortly afterwards saying that the air defense sirens had been lifted, but if the sirens were heard again, it was hoped that local residents would immediately go to the air defense facilities to take shelter. People know from media reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in the Donbass region, but Russia has no plans to occupy Ukraine. At about 12 o'clock local time, the sound of explosions was heard again over the city of Kiev. In the afternoon, Kiev Mayor Krichko announced on social media platforms that kiev city had imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. that night.
This is a street scene of Kiev, Ukraine, taken on February 24.
The deterioration of the situation has deeply disturbed the residents of kiev city. The reporter saw in Kiev City that many residents are centrally purchasing materials, and there are residents in major supermarkets queuing up to buy daily necessities such as food and drinking water from the morning. There has also been a crowding of people at a number of banks and exchange points.
"We went to the supermarket and bought a lot of things, a lot of people were buying things. There are also a lot of people in the bank who want to withdraw cash. A Kiev city resident told reporters.
On that day, Kiev city buses, banks, supermarkets, pharmacies, and hotels were still operating normally. In the city center of Independence Square and Europe Square, some people carry luggage and backpacks to bus and subway stations, and some people carry luggage to say goodbye to loved ones. Traffic in the center of Kiev has decreased significantly, but there has been traffic congestion on some sections of kiev city to the suburbs and the west, with drivers dragging supplies out of the city with trailers.
Maria, a 55-year-old resident, told reporters that her son and 5-year-old granddaughter had moved from Samui in northeastern Ukraine to Transcarpathian state in the west two weeks ago. She reads the news every day and is very worried about the situation in Ukraine.
Many shops in Kiev city have closed their doors. Anna, 37, runs several cosmetics stores in kiev city. She told reporters that she does not plan to leave Kiev for the time being, because her children are still studying in Kiev and hope that the war will not affect her children's studies. She also said that some of her friends in Kiev had gone abroad or lived in Lviv in the west.
On this day, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine was in a state of war and that Ukraine had severed diplomatic relations with Russia.
The residents of Kiev are apprehensive about how the situation will unfold in the future. "We're worried." A Kiev resident told reporters. "Our neighbor left the house. A lot of people are trying to leave Kiev. ”
This is a street scene taken on February 24 in the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Dongxu
Ukrainian official: The Ukrainian army has lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear facility
Podoriak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, posted on social media on the 24th that the Ukrainian army has lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear facility.
Podoriac said that after fierce fighting, the Ukrainian army lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear facility, which has been occupied by Russian troops. The current status of nuclear facilities, nuclear waste control and storage are unclear.
Russian President Putin delivered a televised speech in the early morning of the 24th and decided to launch a special military operation in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Putin said Russia has no plans to occupy Ukraine. TASS quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as reporting on the 24th that The Military Infrastructure of Ukraine is being hit by high-precision weapons, but the Russian armed forces do not shell or air raid Ukrainian cities, and the action will not threaten civilians.
According to the report released on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the 24th, the Russian armed forces destroyed 74 ground military infrastructure in Ukraine in the attack, including 11 air force airports, 3 command posts, 18 radar stations, etc. A Soviet-25 attack aircraft of the Russian Air Force crashed due to a driving error during the operation, and the pilot safely bounced and escaped.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located more than 100 kilometers north of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. On April 26, 1986, the reactor of the plant's Unit 4 exploded, making it the world's worst nuclear leakage accident to date. After the accident, the area 30 kilometers outwards centered on the reactor of Unit 4 became an isolation area. The Chernobyl exclusion zone has been open to the public since 2010.
United Nations: Allocate $20 million for emergency humanitarian needs for the Ukraine crisis
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on the 24th that the United Nations will immediately allocate $20 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund for emergency humanitarian needs in Ukraine and its surrounding areas.
Guterres told the media at the UN headquarters in New York on the same day that the United Nations and its humanitarian partners were determined to stay in Ukraine and provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. United Nations staff are currently working on both sides of the line of contact and adhere to the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence.
Guterres also called on all parties concerned to abide by international human rights law and international humanitarian law and to give priority to the protection of civilians.
Guterres said the current situation was "not irreversible." Decisions in the coming days "will shape our world" and will directly affect the lives of millions of people.
Commodity prices soar, EU brews "toughest sanctions" against Russia
Affected by the latest situation in Ukraine, the prices of global commodities such as oil, gas and grain soared on the 24th. The European Union is scheduled to hold a summit that evening to negotiate "the toughest sanctions" against Russia.
Analysts believe that rising energy and food prices will affect the lives of people in Europe and other places in the short term, and the sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States on Russia will have a broad impact on the European economy in the medium and long term.
【The people at the bottom are the most affected】
Global energy and food prices have been at a high level recently. The latest data show that the price of Brent crude oil futures in London for April delivery broke through $100 a barrel in intraday on the 24th, the first time since September 2014 to break the hundred, the wholesale price of natural gas in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands rose by 30% to 40%, and the price of wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to a new high in 9 and a half years.
Russia is the world's third largest oil producer and the world's leading exporter of natural gas. About 27% and 41% of the oil and gas imported by EU countries come from Russia. Among them, the natural gas imported by Austria, Italy and Slovakia from Russia is mainly transported through Ukraine, and some natural gas from Germany and Poland is also transported through Ukraine.
If the energy supply is blocked by the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, resulting in an increase in prices, it will be directly reflected in the heating, refueling and electricity bills of EU residents. In addition, natural gas can produce ammonia, which is the main raw material for fertilizers. As a result, high natural gas prices could drive up prices for all agricultural products.
European economic analysts say high energy prices hit low-income households the hardest, and it is estimated that the government will subsidize low-income groups by then, and this expenditure will make the financial constraints of many governments that have spent a lot of money to deal with the new crown epidemic.
Ukraine is the fifth largest wheat exporter in the world. Agricultural analyst Alex Smith said last month that some countries importing food from Ukraine are already facing the threat of food shortages. Yemen, Libya and Lebanon import wheat from Ukraine account for about 22%, 43% and 50% of their consumption, respectively.
【EU trade and investment will be affected】
The leaders of EU countries will study a new round of sanctions against Russia at the summit held on the 24th. Eu High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josép Borrelli said it would be "the toughest package of sanctions imposed by the EU".
Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission for economic affairs, told Reuters on the 23rd: "The imposition of strong sanctions on Russia will have an impact on the EU economy, and we need to be prepared for this."
The EU exports about 80 billion euros ($89 billion) worth of goods to Russia each year, or about 0.6 percent of the EU's gross domestic product. Among the EU countries, Germany is Russia's largest importer and exporter. France, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and Belgium also traded significantly with Russia.
In addition, the EU is the largest investor in Russia, with the size of THE EU's direct investment in Russia reaching 311.4 billion euros ($348 billion) in 2019.
Russia and Ukraine account for less than 2% of global GDP. Elena Ribakova, vice president of the International Finance Association, believes that just counting the gdp ratio of the two countries will underestimate the damage caused to the economy by the current situation, "especially in the context of the current high global commodity prices and inflation rates, which is particularly difficult."
Urgent notice: China is preparing to charter flights in batches to pick up Chinese citizens in Ukraine
On February 25, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine issued the Urgent Notice on Requesting Chinese Citizens To Evacuate from Ukraine for Registration.
Image source: WeChat public account of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine
The full text of the notice is as follows:
At present, the domestic situation in Ukraine has deteriorated sharply, and my citizens and Chinese-funded enterprises in Ukraine are at a high security risk. In order to prepare for the return of charter flights in batches, personnel registration is now open. Charter flights are voluntary. The time of the charter dispatch is determined according to the flight safety situation and will be notified in advance.
Please be sure to complete and carefully fill in the attached form, the registration time is until 12:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, February 27, and the registration personnel must hold a Chinese passport or travel permit (including a Hong Kong SAR passport, a Macao SAR passport, and a Taiwan compatriot card, and those without a passport must hold a domestic IDENTITY card). For follow-up arrangements, please pay attention to the notice released by the Embassy as soon as possible.
During this period, please do a good job of safety and epidemic protection, take personal safety as the first priority, and prepare boarding items in advance so that you can act quickly after receiving notice.
Reporters: Li Dongxu, Huang He, Wang Jiangang, Guo Qian
Some of the materials come from the WeChat public account of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine
Source: Xinhua Viewpoint