What the papers say – February 26

The front pages focus on Kyiv being ‘on the brink’ of invasion by Russian forces.

What the papers say – February 26 (PA) (PA Archive)

Russia’s expanding invasion of Ukraine as it reaches the country’s seat of power dominates the nationals as the weekend begins.

The Ukrainian capital is “on the brink”, reports The Guardian, the Daily Mail declares Kyiv the “city of courage” and the Daily Mirror quotes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying “we are not afraid”.

A photograph of Ukrainian soldiers defending Kyiv on a road leads the i weekend and the Daily Express, with the latter referring to the defence under the headline “fearless”.

The same photograph is used by The Daily Telegraph, which notes that as “Russian tanks rolled in, British weapons blew them up”.

The Sun calls Mr Putin a “tyrant” who “bombs kids” and The Independent reports guns have been handed out to civilians as part of a “strong resistance”.

Civilians have also taken up arms with rifles and petrol bombs, according to The Times, while the FT Weekend cites Mr Zelensky as saying Russia have made him their number one target.

And the Daily Star says the Klitschko boxing brothers, who have vowed to defend their country, will “KO Mad Vlad”.