MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Russian paratroopers have taken control of the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and made an agreement with the Ukrainian military to jointly ensure the facility’s safety, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday. According to the ministry, 118 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities have been crippled and over 150 Ukrainian service members have laid down their arms and surrendered. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree announcing a general mobilization and urged Moscow to hold negotiations. TASS has put together vital information on the situation in Ukraine.
Hostilities in Ukraine
Russian troops had disabled 118 Ukrainian military facilities by Friday morning, including 11 military airfields, 13 command and communications points, 36 radar stations and 14 anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition, 11 Ukrainian aircraft have been downed, 18 tanks and other armored vehicles, seven multiple-launch rocket systems and five gunboats have been destroyed.
Russian paratroopers took control of the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and agreed with the Ukrainian military to jointly protect the energy units and the Shelter Structure. "Joint activities involving Russian paratroopers and Ukrainian service members <...> guarantee that nationalist units and other terrorist organizations won’t be able to take advantage of the current developments in the country in order to stage a nuclear provocation," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov pointed out.
According to Zelensky, 137 Ukrainian service members, including ten officers, were killed in the past day, and 316 suffered wounds. The Ukrainian president also confirmed that Kiev had lost control over Snake (Zmeiny) Island in the Black Sea.
Zelensky’s appeals and mobilization
The Ukrainian president has once again urged Russia to hold talks, pointing out that he wasn’t afraid to discuss this country’s neutral status and security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky also announced a 90-day general mobilization. The commander-in-chief’s headquarters have been established in the country with Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexey Danilov appointed as its coordinator.
Domestic situation
Zelensky stated in his address to the nation that he stayed in Kiev "together with all those ensuring the operation of the central government." His family also remains in Ukraine, though the president did not specify their whereabouts. A curfew has been imposed in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am. Members of volunteer territorial defense battalions, who have received about 10,000 assault rifles, are patrolling the city’s streets.