Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, killing at least 198 people so far, as they pushed in from multiple directions. Multiple Ukrainian cities and villages were shelled, attacked with missiles, helicopters, tanks and ships, while ground forces have begun invading multiple parts of the country.
The following is a live blog of the Russian attacks on the third day of the invasion, Feb. 27. (Live blogs from previous days: Day 1, Feb. 24; Day 2, Feb. 25, Day 3, Feb. 26.)
12 a.m.
Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast: Two Russian saboteurs surrendered themselves to the local residents after a heavy fight with Ukrainian army forces and armed vehicle column destruction. Both claim they belong to a 33rd Regiment from the Volgograd region of Russia.
Makariv, Kyiv Oblast: Fierce battles are taking place in Makariv village some 60 kilometers from Kyiv. Previously the Ukrainian Army Forces reported that the enemy used children and women to protect their vehicles from Ukraine’s shelling.
Donske, Donetsk Oblast: The village is under constant shelling. A lot of civilian infrastructure is being destroyed, including kindergartens, residential buildings, food stores etc. The electricity in the village has been cut off. Local residents have no water supplies. A flag of the DNR, a self-proclaimed republic, is hanging on the village administration building.
Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast: Russian missiles hit Mykolaiv airport, says Vitaliy Kim, the head of the oblast state administration. The strikes hit the runway and the platform.
11 p.m.
Krupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast: Local city mayor Gennadiy Matsegora surrendered the town to the enemy forces. In his own statement on Facebook he said that the Russians told him they would take the city by force if he does not negotiate, so he did “to avoid human sacrifices and destruction of the city, especially the infrastructure we would not rebuild for life,” he said. Matsegora called on the city residents to leave their shelters, come back to life and “conduct business as usual”. Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor office opened a criminal case against him for state treason.
10 p.m.
Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast: The city is being continuously shelled for days now. People have no food or water supplies and do not leave underground shelters, says the head of Volnovakha state administration. The roads to the city are cut off or filled with rocket missiles. The administration has a few buses ready to evacuate the people, but the shelling never stops and the enemy doesn’t let local district authorities anywhere near the city, hromadske reports.
Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhya Oblast: All the administrative buildings have been allegedly taken by the Russian invaders. Local authorities stayed in the city, but declined the enemy's offer to collaborate, says the city mayor Oleksandr Svydlo in his video statement on his Facebook page.
9 p.m.
Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast: Ukrainian army forces hit a Russian BUK, a self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system, near Zhytomyr with a Bayraktar missile. Bayraktar is a Turkish strike operational-tactical medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle with long flight duration. BUK is a similar anti-aircraft missile system that Russian army forces used to shoot down MH-17 in July 2014.
8 p.m.
Ukraine: Air strike alerts declared in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Cherkasy. City residents are asked to take shelter immediately.
Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast: Ukrainian authorities of Nova Kakhovka, a small town not far from Kherson, negotiated the evacuation of civilian residents with Russians. The enemy temporarily took control over the city, says city mayor Volodymyr Kovalenko. Civilians to be evacuated today, on Feb. 27.
Sumy, Sumy Oblast: City administration says a column of Hrad rocket launching systems is approaching the city and asks local residents to stay sheltered.
7 p.m.
Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr Oblast: A missile shot from the territory of Belarus hit an airport in Zhytomyr. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister says that the missile was shot from an Iskander, a ballistic operational-tactical missile system of the ground-to-ground class. He says that now the Zhytomyr, Volyn and Rivne oblasts will have to get ready to“fry not only Russian, but also Belarusian invaders in the coming days,” he wrote in his Telegram post.
5 p.m.
Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast: Ukraine’s National Guard stopped food trucks with ATB signs on them. ATB is Ukraine’s widespread supermarket chain. Inside the trucks there were Russian military personnel. As a result of the battle, all of them were neutralized.
Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast: Ukraine’s legendary cargo aircraft “Mriya” was burned down in the angar of Antonov airport in Hostomel, Ukrainska Pravda reports citing its sources in the airport and the mayor of Bucha city in Kyiv Oblast. According to Bucha mayor the plane was destroyed during the first day of war, on Feb. 24. Building a new aircraft like that would cost around 3 mlrd dollars, says Yuriy Gusev, director general of Ukroboronprom.
4 p.m.
Sumy, Sumy Oblast: Russians opened fire on a civilian car. There were two adults and three children in the car, including an infant. One woman was hit in the head by a bullet. The woman died.
Multiple street fights are ongoing in the city.
Konotop, Sumy Oblast: Russian saboteurs entered a local meat processing plant, breaking the locks. They change into civilian clothes and go back to the city, Suspilne Sumy reports.
Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: Russian armored SUV “Tiger” was neutralized by Ukrainian defenders. After a Ukrainian sniper shot dead one of the SVU passengers, over a dozen others jumped out of the car and fled the location into the local park. Street fights continue in Kharkiv.
Energodar, Zaporizhzhya Oblast: Russian armed vehicles came close to the city of Energodar. Small sabotage reconnaissance groups try to get into the city and into the city’s strategic objects.
3 p.m.
Pryluky, Chernihiv Oblast: Ukrainian army destroyed a tank company, both the vehicles and the soldiers, of the Russian army not far from Pryluky in Chernihiv Oblast.
Bucha, Kyiv Oblast: Ukrainian defenders allegedly destroyed Russia’s armed vehicles column marked with a letter V, Ukrainska Pravda reports citing its sources. The report shows a video of a shattered enemy’s armed vehicles column shot by a local man. The video is over 3 min long showing multiple shattered armed vehicles. At the end of the video Ukrainian soldiers ask the author of the video to stop filming.
Vinnytsya, Vinnytsya Oblast: Ukraine's Police arrested a saboteur. The man was placing special marks, allegedly used to help the enemy maneuver around the country. He had an automatic gun with an optical sight, additional ammunition and other relevant equipment.
Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast: Another residential area was shelled in Mariupol.
2 p.m.
Irpin, Kyiv Oblast: Ukrainian army repelled an attack on Irpin. Heavy street fights have been ongoing in town for hours. Ukraine’s defenders released a video following the battle for Irpin.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: Russian saboteur has been spotted trying to plant explosives in one of Kyiv’s residential complexes. A local resident has noticed a bearded man leaving a backpack in the hallway of the building and leaving shortly. A man called the police. Policeman found explosives in the backpack and later caught an enemy himself. They are now looking for two more members of his sabotage reconnaissance group.
Chernihiv, Chernihiv Oblast: Russians shelled the downtown of Chernihiv, a city in the north of Ukraine. Apparently the enemy targeted the local city council, but the missile hit the yard between the dental clinic and a residential building, Suspilne Chernihiv reports.
Black Sea: Russian warships took control of two more Ukrainian civilian ships. Ukrainian tanker “Afina” and a dry cargo ship “Princess Nicole” were given a command by a Russian warship to approach for a check-up. As soon as they approached the communication with them was cut off, the next time both of them were spotted on the radar were some 18 miles from the shore of the occupied Crimea. Both ships were heading to Zmiinyi (Snake) Island.
1 p.m.
Irpin, Kyiv Oblast: Three private residential buildings are on fire in Irpin, a small town not far from the capital, Suspilne reports. The houses caught fire after a recent shelling. There is a risk that there can be people taking shelter in the basements of the buildings.
Kahovka, Kherson Oblast: Police warn city residents to not leave town. The Russian forces open fire at all the civilian cars.
Chernihiv Oblast: Russian sabotage reconnaissance group tried to break through to Chernihiv, but failed. The enemies dumped their personal belongings and equipment and fled, reports Regional department of Territorial Defense forces “North of Ukrainian Army Forces”.
12 p.m.
Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: Street fights have been ongoing in the city for the last 4 hours. Locals report enemy vehicles in many parts of the city, including the downtown. Ukrainian army forces fight back – many Russian soldiers and saboutures are taken captive, cars and armed vehicles destroyed.
Trostyanets, Sumy Oblast: Russian soldiers steal food supplies from a local store, reports State’s Special Communication services sharing a video from, what looks like, a store’s surveillance camera.
Dmytrivka, Kyiv Oblast: Russian armed vehicle column marked with letter V is spotted near Dmytrivka village in Kyiv Oblast,not far from Bucha, Kyiv’s satellite town heavily shelled during the last two days. The column is reportedly heading towards Zabuchya, another small village in the area north of Kyiv. Early Ukraine’s Army Commanders asked Ukrainians to watch out for this particular column. According to the army message distributed online, the column has some “special tasks”.
11 a.m.
Irpin, Kyiv Oblast: Ukrainian forces have beat back the Russians from the city of Irpin in Kyiv Oblast, Irpin's mayor announced, according to an Unian report at 11:40 a.m. The fighting over this town to secure an approach to Kyiv has lasted for several days. Residents are being asked to remain in their homes.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: Two more explosions audible from city center.
Koryukivka, Chernihiv Oblast: A crowd of unarmed people in the city of Koryukivka stepped out in front of Russian tanks, halting their forward movement, Novoye Vremya reported. The news site posted a mobile phone video of stationary tanks in front of a big group of civilians. A second video showed the crowd slowly walking towards the tanks that were backing up.
Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast: Russian forces attacked Mariupol with tanks, mayor Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainska Pravda. According to Boychenko, a Ukrainian assault brigade and marines, aided by the Azov Detachment, were able to repel them.
Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast: Ukrainian Public Broadcaster Suspilne reported that Russian forces have shot up a bus full of civilians around Okhtyrka and are not allowing ambulances to reach the site. According to Suspilne, the area has been mined but family doctors are making their way to the spot on foot.
10 a.m.
Chornobayivka. Kherson Oblast: The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted a video of what appears to be a convoy of trucks getting hit from the air -- Ukraine's top commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi said this was a strike against Russian vehicles by a Ukrainian, Turkish-made Bayraktar drone.
Bucha, Kyiv Oblast: The Ukrainian military blew up the bridge between the towns of Bucha and Irpin to slow down Russian troops, Novoye Vremya reported, posting a picture of a large plume of smoke in the area. Russian troops have been blocked off in Bucha, according to Novoye Vremya.
9 a.m.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: The air force has shot down a cruise missile fired at Kyiv from Belarus, Ukraine's top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi reported on Facebook. He called it "yet another war crime" by Belarus and Russia.
A 16-story building in Kyiv's outer Troeshchina district has been blasted by an explosion, igniting seven nearby parked cars, according to the Kyiv City State Administration.
Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast: Two Danish journalists were shot in the town of Okhtyrka but have been taken to the hospital and are "out of danger," according to the Daily Beast. Okhtyrka has seen some fierce fighting since the invasion began.
8 a.m.
Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: Russian troops have broken through into the center of Kharkiv, Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the regional government, posted on Facebook at 7:35 a.m. The Ukrainians are waging street battles with the Russians, civilians have been advised not to leave their homes or shelters.
Bucha, Kyiv Oblast: Several Ukrainian news outlets and Telegram channels posted photos of a burning nine-story residential building in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast. Ukrainska Pravda cited sources in the President's Office and among other authorities that the fire was caused by shelling.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: At least four explosions were heard near the center of Kyiv. Air raid sirens were activated.
3:30 a.m.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: Russian forces fired at radioactive waste disposal site in Kyiv. The Radon Association recorded the shelling on its surveillance cameras. According to the preliminary assessment of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, there is no threat to people outside the sanitary protection zone.
1 a.m.
Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: Russian TV channel Dozhd reported intense shelling in Kharkiv.
Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast: This town 33 kilometers outside Kyiv is under heavy assault, according to several eyewitnesses who spoke to the Kyiv Independent. The town's mayor confirmed that Russia has bombed an oil storage depot.
One eyewitness described the sound of small explosions, each followed by a plume of flames. The smoke is extreme, the eyewitness said. A second eyewitness said they heard a roar that sounded like thunder, followed by loud fireworks, leading them to believe that shelling has begun.
A third eyewitness who lives near Demiivska Street in Kyiv can see the explosions in Vasylkiv from their house.
Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast: A loud explosion rang out near the Paton Bridge connecting Kyiv's left and right bank, followed by fire, according to an Ukrinform correspondent who witnessed the event.
CNN reported that two large explosions lit up the night sky to the southwest of Kyiv with one detonation that appeared to be approximately 20 kilometers from the city center.
Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast: CORRECTION: We had reported earlier that Ukraine destroyed an echelon of 56 tanks near the town of Hostomel and defeated a column of Chechen forces named "Kadyrovites," named for the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.
In fact, Ukrainian forces destroyed 56 fuel tanks in Chernihiv oblast, according to Channel 24.
Separately, some Ukrainian news outlets reported that a column of Chechen fighters had been defeated near Hostomel and that General Magomed Tushayev, head of the 141st motorized regiment of Russia's National Guard was killed. This information has not been independently verified.
12:30 a.m.
According to Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications, the military has the following updates.
Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast: The city remains under Ukrainian control and the military managed to defend an attack by tanks, armored personnel carriers and other tech. Residential buildings have been damaged and there are casualties.
Sumy, Sumy Oblast: The city remains under Ukrainian control and has come under artillery fire. There are casualties. The armed forces destroyed a fuel convoy, taking several Russians captive.
Luhansk Oblast: Russian forces kept trying to take population points, moving from Bilhorod to Starobilsk. According to the military, Russian forces failed to cross the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts.
Kherson Oblast: The cities of Skadovsk and the outskirts of Kherson city, the enemy has broken through the border and "fierce" battles are ongoing.
Black Sea: The air force has destroyed a Russian Su-30 SM fighter.
