KYIV, Ukraine — Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order.
Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was reported in several areas, as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine’s president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy.
In Focus Video
In this handout photo taken from video released by Ukrainian Police Department Press Service released on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, firefighters hose down burning debris in front of a damaged building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital. That comes a day after it unleashed airstrikes on cities and military bases and sent in troops and tanks from three sides. (Ukrainian Police Department Press Service via AP)A child from Ukraine sleeps in a tent part of a humanitarian center for refugees at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, in Palalanca, Moldova, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing from the war by crossing their borders to the west in search of safety. They left their country as Russia pounded their capital and other cities with airstrikes for a second day on Friday. Cars were backed up for several kilometers (miles) at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)
In Focus Video
Natali Sevriukova reacts next to her house following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)A Ukrainian firefighter walks between at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aircraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)A Ukrainian soldier sits injured in crossfire inside the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)Ukrainian soldiers take a position on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)In this handout photo taken from a video released by Ukrainian Police Department Press Service released on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, firefighters inspect the damage at a building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital. That comes a day after it unleashed airstrikes on cities and military bases and sent in troops and tanks from three sides. (Ukrainian Police Department Press Service via AP)People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)A woman weeps in her car after crossing the border from Ukraine at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing from the war by crossing their borders to the west in search of safety. They left their country as Russia pounded their capital and other cities with airstrikes for a second day on Friday. Cars were backed up for several kilometers (miles) at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help. (AP Photo/Paul Ursachi)French police officers investigate in front of the Russian consulate after it was tagged with swastikas in Strasbourg, eastern France, Friday, Feb.25, 2022. Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of a wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)A child from Ukraine sleeps in a tent part of a humanitarian center for refugees at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, in Palalanca, Moldova, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing from the war by crossing their borders to the west in search of safety. They left their country as Russia pounded their capital and other cities with airstrikes for a second day on Friday. Cars were backed up for several kilometers (miles) at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)A woman pushes a baby stroller after crossing the border from Ukraine at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Siret, Romania, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing from the war by crossing their borders to the west in search of safety. They left their country as Russia pounded their capital and other cities with airstrikes for a second day on Friday. Cars were backed up for several kilometers (miles) at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help. (AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)A soldier is seen in an armored military vehicle of the Hungarian Army driving along the M4 highway close to Vasarosnameny, Hungary, some 290 km from the Hungarian capital on February 25, 2022, on their way to the temporary base nearby the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, as Ukrainian citizens have started to flee the conflict in their country one day after Russia launched a military attack on neighboring Ukraine. – As Ukraine braces for a feared Russian invasion, its EU member neighbors are making preparations for a possible influx of hundreds of thousands or even millions of refugees fleeing military action. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP) (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)Armored military vehicles of the Hungarian Army drive along the M4 highway close to Vasarosnameny, Hungary, some 290 km from the Hungarian capital on February 25, 2022, as they are on their way to the temporary base nearby the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, as Ukrainian citizens have started to flee the conflict in their country one day after Russia launched a military attack on neighboring Ukraine. – As Ukraine braces for a feared Russian invasion, its EU member neighbors are making preparations for a possible influx of hundreds of thousands or even millions of refugees fleeing military action. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP) (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)[/caption
[caption id="attachment_28437" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on February 25, 2022. – Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on the second day of a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives, as the EU approved sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin. Small arms fire and explosions were heard in the city’s northern district of Obolonsky as what appeared to be an advance party of Russia’s invasion force left a trail of destruction. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP) (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
By 
Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on February 25, 2022. – Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on the second day of a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives, as the EU approved sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin. Small arms fire and explosions were heard in the city’s northern district of Obolonsky as what appeared to be an advance party of Russia’s invasion force left a trail of destruction. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP) (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)