• At 5:05 am on Thursday 24 February, the war in Ukraine began; here is the account of the first day.
• During the night between Thursday and Friday there was no entry into the capital, but Kyiv is under siege.
• In St Petersburg and in other parts of the world, protests against the war took place.

At the dawn of the second day of the war in Ukraine, the death toll already numbers hundreds of victims, including among the civilian population. The Ukrainian capital is resisting the siege, which includes both aerial and missile bombardments. The extent of the damage is unclear. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his regret at having been "left alone" in the face of the Russian army. For Zelensky, sanctions are not enough — a coalition against the war is needed. Meanwhile, Ukraine is under general mobilisation, meaning the deployment of reservists and the possibility of recruiting new fighters.

Below is the real-time account of the war in Ukraine