A strong fire started at an oil depot at Vasylkiv airbase near the capital city Kyiv. The Ukrainian army has deployed more troops to Kyiv, UNIAN agency informed. Heavy fighting takes place in the streets of Kharkiv. Russian military vehicles have broken into Kharkiv, including the city center. Russian troops have blown up a natural gas pipeline in Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city. The government has warned that smoke from the explosion could cause an “environmental catastrophe” and advised civilians to cover their windows.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen proposed cutting some Russian banks, including the country’s central bank, from the international banking payment system SWIFT. An extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers will take place on February 27. The President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron has urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to demand as soon as possible the withdrawal of Russian troops from his soil, AFP reported.