Russia invades Ukraine, explosions heard near Lviv airport

Heavy fighting and shelling continued in various parts of Ukraine on Friday. Here’s what you should know:

Affected areas: Multiple explosions It was heard around 6:30 a.m. local time and smoke was seen rising in western Ukraine Lviv cityAccording to the CNN team on the ground. Mayor Andrei Sadovy said that Russian missiles struck Aircraft repair factoryIt is close to Lviv airport. Russia launched six missiles towards the cityBut two of them were intercepted by air defense systems, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.

One person was killed and four others were injured when a fire broke out when the remnants of a missile fell on the five-storey residential building in the capital. Podilsky district From Kyiv On Friday, the Ukrainian emergency service said.

At least two people were killed and six wounded in a rocket attack in the city of Kramatorsk In eastern Ukraine, according to Pavlo Kirilenko, head of the Donetsk regional administration.

Russian losses: at most five russian soldiersRussia’s regional state television network GTRK Kostroma reported Thursday that, including the commander of the Kostroma Airborne Forces, were killed in battle in Ukraine.

Evacuations: The Ukrainian government said that nine corridors were agreed on Friday to evacuate civilians from towns and cities badly affected by Russian attacks. For the second day in a row, one of the agreed corridors connects the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol with Zaporizhia, which is still under Ukrainian control.

Biden’s invitationA call is taking place between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on Friday. Since the outbreak of the war, China has tried to take a neutral position. It did not condemn the Russian actions, and refused to describe the attack as an invasion. Chinese diplomats have criticized NATO’s expansion and accused the United States of fueling the conflict. But they also demanded a diplomatic solution.

Although they are not military allies, China and Russia have in recent years improved their partnership on trade and technology and coordinated military exercises, while becoming increasingly public about what they see as Western interference in their internal affairs — leading to a rollback of US-led sanctions. And often. Vote as a bloc in the United Nations.

Russia asked China for military and economic support, and Beijing expressed this some openness On this request, according to officials with US intelligence and diplomacy. It is not yet clear whether China intends to provide such assistance to Russia, US officials familiar with the intelligence told CNN – but according to the White House, Biden will outline the potential ramifications of such action during the call with Xi.