Friday Briefing: Missiles hit Kyiv as Ukraine capital awaits Russian assault

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, February 25, 2022 by Linda Noakes Sponsored by   Hello Here's what you need to know. Russian forces seize Chernobyl, Ukraine calls on its hacker underground to defend it, and stocks rise after an initial panic Today's biggest stories A child sits on a swing in front of a damaged residential building in Kyiv, February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Ukraine says it will posthumously honor a group of Ukrainian border guards who were killed defending a tiny island in the Black Sea during a multi-pronged Russian attack. We look at how NATO has left the Black Sea exposed. Russia intends to take the whole of Ukraine but the Russian army failed to deliver its main objectives on the first day of President Vladimir Putin's invasion, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. Here's how Ukraine's armed forces shape up against Russia's. As Russian forces seized Chernobyl, Ukraine's nuclear agency said it was recording increased radiation levels from the site of the defunct nuclear power plant. Experts at the agency did not provide exact radiation levels but said the change was due to the movement of heavy military equipment in the area lifting radioactive dust into the air. The government of Ukraine is asking for volunteers from the country's hacker underground to help protect critical infrastructure and conduct cyber spying missions against Russian troops, according to people involved in the project. Russia has spent the past seven years building up formidable financial defences, yet in the long run, its economy is unlikely to withstand the onslaught of coordinated sanctions from the West. Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now A broadcaster from Al Jazeera reports from Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange, February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs BUSINESS European stocks rose following Wall Street's dramatic late rally, as investors welcomed coordinated Western sanctions against Russia that targeted its banks but left its energy sector largely untouched. Global fund managers have been cutting back their Russian investments as they braced for the country's invasion of Ukraine. Now hopes of any respite have also been dashed. The well-scripted turn by global central banks towards tighter, post-pandemic monetary policy has been thrown into doubt by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a geopolitical upheaval likely to be felt differently across the world's major economic centers. Here's how the Ukraine conflict could affect the U.S. economy. Brewer Carlsberg, Japan Tobacco and a Coca-Cola bottler were among firms shutting factories in Ukraine following Russia's invasion, while UPS and FedEx suspended services in and out of the country. The fallout for the global aviation industry from Russia's invasion of Ukraine is spreading beyond the airspace closings over the conflict zone as airlines, lessors and manufacturers face up to growing risks of doing business with Russia. U.S. A U.S. congressional committee investigating former President Donald Trump's removal of classified documents from the White House has expanded its probe of the Republican's handling of records. Trump has denied wrongdoing since it was discovered that he had brought 15 boxes of presidential documents to his home in Florida, rather than handing them over to the National Archive, as is required by law. Republican political operative and Trump ally Roger Stone sued members of the congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol to block their attempt to acquire his phone records. Three former Minneapolis police officers were found guilty by a federal jury of depriving George Floyd of his civil rights by failing to give aid to the handcuffed Black man pinned beneath a colleague's knee. A Michigan judge ordered the parents of an accused teenage school shooter to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges, saying evidence showed they purchased their son a gun despite signs that he was a "troubled young man." Florida's House of Representatives approved a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, a measure Democrats denounced as being anti-LGBTQ. Sponsored by Nomura The global reset is an opportunity Presenting actionable insights to rethink your financial strategy Find out more Quote of the day "Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association" Biden takes veiled swipe at China in condemning Russia backers on Ukraine Video of the day Ukrainians flee to Poland Ukrainian Ivan Yurochko, a 24-year-old engineer from Lviv, said the situation in his country was "hard to process" and he feared for the safety of his friends and family. And finally… Newly devised human family tree reveals the 'genealogy of everyone' Researchers have unveiled the most comprehensive family tree for Homo sapiens ever devised, based upon both modern and ancient genome data from more than 3,600 people from around the world. More from Reuters COVID The Great Reboot Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036