Ukraine residents took to underground metro stations to escape the first day of Russian military attacks on the country. Photos showed hordes of residents and families, including elderly citizens and babies in strollers, spending the night in metro stations in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Many are swaddled in blankets and warm clothing, and surrounded by bags of personal possessions. An overnight curfew was in place in Ukraine, and metro stations remained open to serve as bomb shelters. Thousands of Ukrainians have left their homes to find safety in neighbouring countries, a figure the United Nation High Commissioner of Refugees estimates at more than 100,000.
The African Union, AU, has raised concern over Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The union’s chairman, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and AU Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement that they were extremely concerned by the invasion.
They called for an immediate ceasefire to avoid a planetary conflict The full-scale assault on Ukraine is ongoing on several fronts after Russia launched attacks from the east, north and south on Thursday. Ukraine says dozens of people have been killed, while thousands have fled the country.