Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy visits UK, first time since Russia invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.K. on Wednesday for the first time since Russia's invasion, a rare trip out of his war-torn country.

Zelenskyy met U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and addressed Parliament in a bid for more military aid in the form of advanced weapons and "wings for freedom" fighter jets as Ukraine prepares for expected spring offensives by Russian forces.

For the first time, Sunak said he's open to the idea of providing fighter jets. “Nothing is off the table,” he said at a joint news conference at a British army base. “We must arm Ukraine in the short term, but we must bolster Ukraine for the long term.”

It is Zelenskyy's second known trip outside Ukraine since Russia's invasion nearly a year ago, after his December visit to the U.S.

On Wednesday night, Zelenskyy arrived in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Zelenskyy will also visit Brussels, where leaders from the 27-nation bloc are holding a summit Thursday, Macron's office confirmed.

Developments:

►Zelensky visited Buckingham Palace and met with King Charles. The royal family posted a photo of the men shaking hands on Twitter.

►French President Emmanuel Macron was to meet with Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris later Wednesday, the Élysée Palace said. Zelenskyy also is expected to visit Brussels, where leaders from the 27-nation bloc are holding a summit Thursday, but no announcement had been made.

►British Foreign Minister James Cleverly announced new sanctions against Russian President Vladimir "Putin’s inner circle and producers of Russia's warfare equipment," adding that, "Putin is desperate. He will not succeed."

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UK moves closer to providing Ukraine with fighter jets

Zelenskyy, wearing his trademark olive sweatshirt, presented the speaker of the House of Commons with a Ukrainian air force helmet inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

The U.S., U.K and other allies have been reluctant to provide advanced fighter jets, citing the complexity of the aircraft and concerns over escalating the war. But in a shift, the British government said Wednesday that it was “actively looking” at whether Ukraine could be sent Western jets and was “in discussion with our allies” about it.

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government was exploring what jets might be provided over the coming years but had not made a decision on whether to send its F-35 or Typhoon jets.

“We think it is right to provide both short-term equipment … that can help win the war now but also look to the medium-to-long term to make sure Ukraine has every possibility it requires,” he said.

Zelenskyy addresses UK Parliament, asks for jets

Zelenskyy asked allies to send "combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom" as hundreds of lawmakers and staff packed into Westminster Hall for his address.

Zelenskyy also urged stronger sanctions against Russia and thanked Britain for its aid.

"London has stood with Kyiv since Day One," he said, handing over a combat helmet as a thank-you to Britain. The helmet was inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot with the words, “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

UK announces pilot, marine training program for Ukraine

Zelenskyy's visit coincides with Sunak announcing that Britain will expand training for Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and marines "as part of long-term investment in their military," according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

Britain pledged to train Ukrainian pilots on "NATO standard fight jets," but the U.K. has been reluctant to meet Ukraine's request for allies to send warplanes.

"I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future," Sunak said in a statement. "It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come."

US MILITARY AID:As Biden seeks to avoid wider war, M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine escalates conflict

The U.K. is one of Ukraine's biggest military supporters and has sent the country more than $2.5 billion in aid. More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have trained at U.K. bases, and Britain said 20,000 more will do so this year. Last week, a group of Ukrainians arrived in the U.K. to learn to operate Challenger 2 tanks Britain is supplying.

The U.K. also announced a series of sanctions Wednesday against six entities it said provided equipment to the Russian military.

Zelenskyy keeps busy itinerary in UK

Zelenskyy arrived at London Stansted airport on a Royal Air Force plane as Sunak greeted him. Sunak tweeted a photo of the two embracing on the tarmac.

"The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support," Zelenskyy said on Instagram.

Zelenskyy and Sunak traveled to Downing Street amid a large convoy of vehicles before briefly posing for photos in front of the famous black door that leads into the U.K. prime minister's residence.

Zelenskyy started the meeting by thanking Britain for its "big support from the first days of full-scale invasion." He also met with King Charles, U.K. military chiefs and Ukrainian troops training in Britain.

IOC resists pressure to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes from Paris Games

As the push against allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in next year's Summer Games in Paris gains support, the International Olympic Committee continues to resist.

On Wednesday, Olympic leaders said they don't intend to have Russian and Belarusian delegations at the event. Instead, the IOC plans for those countries' qualifying competitors who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine to participate as “neutral athletes” without a national identity such as team uniforms, flags and anthems.

Zelenskyy and many political and sports figures have advocated for extending to the Paris Games the ban initially applied in most Olympic sports to participants from Russia and Belarus, imposed shortly after the war began last February.

“It is not possible to parade as if nothing had happened, to have a delegation that comes to Paris while the bombs continue to rain down on Ukraine,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Tuesday, drawing the IOC response.

US MILITARY AID:Ukraine to get 45 top battle tanks from US, Germany. How they will aid in war with Russia

Contributing: The Associated Press

Ukraine agrees to meet with Russia Monday; Belarus could join ...

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Sunday, Feb. 27. Click here to follow the latest updates and news from Monday, Feb. 28, as Russia's invasion continues.

***

While Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s nuclear weapons on high alert, more support poured in for Ukraine in its ongoing effort to fend off Russian forces, which on Sunday reached the second-largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

The European Union announced unprecedented new actions against Russia, outlining plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund a weapons purchase to assist Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets, while the Associated Press reported the United States approved the delivery of anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine.

Western powers in support of Ukraine could soon be joined by Switzerland, an oftentimes neutral country that on Monday is set to review potential sanctions and asset freezes against Russia, said President Ignazio Cassis via Reuters. Cassis said it was “very probable” the country would follow suit, the outlet reported.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks near the Belarus border. The discussion was expected to happen Monday morning local time, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin via CNN.

Also Monday, both the 193-member U.N. General Assembly and the smaller, 15-member Security Council plan to hold emergency meetings on Russia’s invasion.

Meanwhile, Putin’s order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represents an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon.

A senior Defense Department official said Russia is under no threat from the United States and its NATO allies. The Pentagon is confident it can protect the U.S. and its allies, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is heading towards a fifth day of fighting. According to the Associated Press, Russian troops entered Kharkiv on Sunday, where videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across the city and a vehicle burning on the street. Residents were urged to stay inside.

The troops in Kharkiv arrived after Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine, targeting airfields and fuel facilities. Two large explosions rocked an area south of the capital just before 1 a.m. local time. Zelenskyy’s office said one of the blasts was near the Zhuliany airport and the other blast hit an oil depot about 25 miles south of the capital, according to the mayor of Vasylkiv via the AP. Russian forces also blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, according to the Ukrainian president's office.

Ukrainian officials said Sunday the civilian death toll has reached 352.

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Russian Central Bank tries to stop ruble's free fall

Russia’s Central Bank has sharply raised its key rate from 9.5% to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.

The bank’s action follows the Western decision Sunday to freeze its hard currency reserves in an unprecedented move that could have devastating consequences for the country’s financial stability. It was unclear exactly what share of Russia’s estimated $640 billion hard currency coffers will be paralyzed by the move, but European officials said that at least half of it will be affected.

The move will dramatically raise pressure on the ruble by undermining the financial authorities’ ability to conduct hard currency interventions to prevent the ruble from sinking further and triggering high inflation. The ruble has sharply dived in early Monday trading.

The Central Bank also ordered a slew of measures to help the banks cope with the crisis by infusing more cash into the system and easing restrictions for banking operations. At the same time, it temporarily barred non-residents from selling the government obligations to help ease the pressure on ruble from panicky foreign investors eager to cash out.

-- Associated Press

More:The enigma of Vladimir Putin: What do we really know about Russia's leader?

Dalai Lama pleas for peace in Ukraine

The Dalai Lama on Monday pleaded for peace and "mutual understanding," and said he was "deeply saddened" by the war in Ukraine.

"War is outdated – non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters," the spiritual leader said on his website. "This is how we will build a more peaceful world."

The Nobel peace prize winner also said any problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue. "Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other's well-being," he said.

He also said he hopes peace is swiftly restored.

"We must not lose hope," he said. "The 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of dialogue."

-- Terry Collins

Two United Nations sessions scheduled for Monday

The U.N.’s two major bodies -- the 193-nation General Assembly and the more powerful 15-member Security Council -- will hold separate meetings Monday on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a reflection of widespread international demands for an immediate cease-fire and escalating concern for the plight of millions of Ukrainians caught up in the war.

The Security Council gave a green light Sunday for the first emergency session of the General Assembly in decades. It will give all U.N. members an opportunity to speak about the war Monday and vote on a resolution later in the week that U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said would “hold Russia to account for its indefensible actions and for its violations of the U.N. Charter.”

French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere announced that the Security Council will hold a meeting Monday afternoon on the humanitarian impact of Russia’s invasion, a session sought by French President Emmanuel Macron to ensure the delivery of aid to growing numbers of those in need in Ukraine.

Both meetings follow Russia’s veto Friday of a Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. The vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.

– Associated Press

More:Ukraine athletes defend country, demand sanctions for Russia

U.S. Embassy in Ukraine: departing the country may take up to 30 hours

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is now urging U.S citizens in Ukraine to try leaving using private transportation options as leaving could in some cases take more than 30 hours.

The embassy said Sunday “conditions may deteriorate” in various parts of the country without any warning due to the escalating Russian invasion.

“Careful consideration should be made to routes and the risks of travel because Ukraine’s roads are in many cases crowded, exposed to combat operations, and infrastructure such as bridges in some locations have been destroyed. Sheltering in place may remain the best option for some,” the embassy said on its website.

Furthermore, embassy officials say that border crossings into neighboring Poland and all main crossing points into Moldova are overwhelmed.

“Some are experiencing extremely long wait times (well over 30 hours in some cases),” the embassy said. “We recommend that, if possible, U.S. citizens consider redirecting to border crossings with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, which are currently experiencing lower wait times to cross.”

Embassy officials also offered a series of tips including bringing enough food, water and warm clothing. They also urge citizens to carry hard copies of important documents as the U.S. government will not be able to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine.

– Terry Collins

More:Satellite images show damaged airport in Hostomel following strikes

Russian ruble sinks in early trading

The ruble sank nearly 26% against the U.S. dollar early Monday after Western nations moved to block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system.

The ruble was trading at a record low 105.27 per dollar, down from about 84 per dollar late Friday.

Over the weekend, Japan joined the moves by the U.S. and other western nations to impose more sanctions against Russia.

Restrictions on the Russian central bank target its access to more than $600 billion in reserves the Kremlin has at its disposal. They hinder Russia’s ability to support the ruble as it plunges in value.

Sanctions announced earlier had taken the Russian currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history.

-- Associated Press

More:What sanctions does Russia face? Here's a list by country

US official: Belarus may join Ukraine invasion

A senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.

Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.

The American official has direct knowledge of current U.S. intelligence assessments and says the decision by Belarus’ leader on whether to bring Belarus further into the war depends on talks between Russia and Ukraine happening in the coming days. The official spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive information.

Russian forces have encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders, and U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.

-- Associated Press

More:There may be risk, but the U.S. will likely keep arming Ukraine even if Russia takes Kyiv

Russia rendering Facebook unusable in some places

Russia has apparently rendered Facebook largely unusable across leading Russian telecommunications providers amid rising friction between Moscow and the social media platform.

The London-based internet monitor NetBlocks reports that Facebook’s network of content-distribution servers in Russia was so badly restricted Sunday that “content no longer loads, or loads extremely slowly making the platforms unusable.”

Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday announced plans to “partially restrict” access to Facebook. That same day, Facebook’s head of security policy had said the company was barring Russian state media from running ads or otherwise profiting on its platform anywhere in the world.

Facebook says it has also refused a request by the Kremlin not to run fact checks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the platform for users inside Russia.

NetBlocks reported earlier that access to Twitter was similarly restricted Saturday. That was a day after Twitter said it was temporarily halting ads in both Ukraine and Russia.

The Twitter and Facebook restrictions can be circumvented inside Russia using VPN software, just as users do in mainland China.

-- Associated Press

Canada will investigate Russian flight violating airspace ban

Canada said it will launch an investigation into a Russian-based Aeroflot flight that entered Canadian airspace on Sunday and violated a ban on all Russian flights due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We are aware that Aeroflot flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace," Transport Canada said in a series of tweets. "We are launching a review of the conduct of Aeroflot and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN, leading up to this violation.

"We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations," the agency added.

Earlier Sunday, Omar Alghabra, Canada's transport minister, that the country's airspace was closed to all Russian aircraft operators.

"We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” Alghabra tweeted.

– Terry Collins

Biden to hold a call with U.S. allies to discuss Ukraine, Russia

President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a call with U.S. allies on Monday morning to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine and their coordinated response, the White House said late Sunday.

The call is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. ET. The call comes after Biden ordered the U.S. State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from its stockpile to Ukraine on Friday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Saturday that this third authorization for weapons shipments to Ukraine in less than a year was "unprecedented."

– Terry Collins

Ukraine radioactive site in Kyiv struck by missiles, UN nuclear watchdog

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says missiles have struck a radioactive waste disposal site in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. So far there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material.

In a statement late Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Ukrainian authorities informed his office about the overnight strike. Grossi said his agency expects to get the results of on-site radioactive monitoring soon.

The report comes a day after an electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was damaged.

Such facilities typically hold low-level radioactive materials such as waste from hospitals and industry, but Grossi says the two incidents highlight a “very real risk.” Grossi said if the sites are damaged there could be “potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment.”

– Associated Press

Japanese billionaire to donate over $8 million to Ukraine

Japanese billionaire Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani said he will donate over $8 million to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia’s invasion “a challenge to democracy.”

Mikitani, founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc., said Sunday in a letter to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the donation of ¥1 billion (roughly $8.7 million) will go toward “humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence,” the Japan Times reported.

Mikitani said he met with Zelenskyy during a visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in 2019.

“My thoughts are with you and Ukraine people,” Mikitani wrote in his letter. “I believe that the trampling of a peaceful and democratic Ukraine by unjustified force is a challenge to democracy.

“I sincerely hope that Russia and Ukraine can resolve this issue peacefully and that Ukraine people can have peace again as soon as possible,” Mikitani added.

– Terry Collins

Russia-Ukraine talks set for Monday

The office of Ukraine’s president confirmed that a delegation is set to meet with Russian officials as Moscow’s troops continue to target Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border.

ABC and CNN, each citing Ukrainian officials, reported the talks would take place Monday, which matches a report from Russian state-owned news agency TASS that said the discussions would take place in the morning.

The announcement on Sunday came hours after Russia announced that its delegation had flown to Belarus to await talks. Ukrainian officials initially rejected the move, saying any talks should take place elsewhere than Belarus, where Russia has placed a large contingent of troops.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed hope for prospective peace talks.

"We'll look forward to what comes out of those discussions," Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

– Associated Press, Jay Cannon and David Jackson

Borrell: EU countries will soon send fighter jets to Ukraine

European Union countries will soon send fighter jets to Ukraine at the Kyiv government’s request to help it counter the Russian air and land assault, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday, according to the AFP news service.

"We're going to provide even fighting jets. We're not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war," Borrell said at a news conference.

The military transfer appeared imminent, according to Alexandre Krauss, a senior advisor to the EU Parliament.

“Flying in #Ukraine skies within the hour,” Krauss tweeted at 3:38 p.m. ET, citing Borrell’s announcement.

According to Borrell, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had asked the EU for the planes.

Citing a person familiar with the talks, the Wall Street Journal reported that “discussions are still ongoing” and that any planes would be supplied directly by EU member states and not funded through an arrangement announced earlier for the EU to finance weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, announced earlier in the day, that EU members were “stepping up our support for Ukraine. For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack. We are also strengthening our sanctions against the Kremlin.”

The announcement came as satellite imagery showed a massive convoy of Russian military vehicles – with some estimates of 3.25 miles long – moving toward Kyiv and about 40 miles away.

– Josh Meyer

US Embassy in Kyiv: $54 million in humanitarian assistance on the way

The U.S. is giving nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Russian invasion, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv announced Sunday.

The funding, which comes as thousands of Ukrainians flee Russian invaders, was announced with "the welfare of ordinary Ukrainians in mind," the embassy said in a statement. It includes nearly $26 million from the Department of State and $28 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

More than 200,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries and U.N. officials believe up to 4 million people could leave if fighting continues.

– Jay Cannon

US to send anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine, AP reports

The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

The exact timing of delivery is not known, but officials say the U.S. is currently working on the logistics of the shipment. The officials agreed to discuss the development only if not quoted by name.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS:There may be risk, but the US will likely keep arming Ukraine even if Russia takes Kyiv

The decision comes on the heels of Germany’s announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.

The high-speed Stingers are very accurate and are used to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. Ukrainian officials have been asking for more of the powerful weapons.

Estonia has also been providing Ukraine with Stingers since January, and had to get U.S. permission in order to do that.

– Associated Press

Neutral Switzerland 'probable' to hit Russia with financial sanctions, president says

After days of fence-sitting, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said on Sunday it was "very probable" that neutral Switzerland would follow the European Union’s lead and sanction Russia and freeze Russian assets in the country.

Reuters reported that Cassis, who was interviewed on French-language Swiss public television, said the nation's seven-member Federal Council would meet Monday and review recommendations by finance and economy officials.

"It is very probable that the government will decide to do so tomorrow, but I cannot anticipate decisions not yet taken," Cassis said, via Reuters.

Switzerland, a global financial hub and commodities trading center – has so far resisted calls for it to levy sanctions and possibly freeze Russian assets, especially after the EU and U.S. announced sanctions.

“The civilized, democratic world has to stand up to the biggest threat to European security and stability since the Second World War,” Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for EU external affairs, said on Friday. “It affects not only Ukraine. It affects Europe. Switzerland is part of Europe. So we expect our partner, our neighbor, our ally to follow suit in standing up for defending the principles on which our communities and countries are based.”

The oft-neutral country's potential move comes as a surprise to some.

"Switzerland to sanction Russia! Holy crap. A country that was neutral against the literal Nazis. Neutral no more!" tweeted Paul Massaro, a counter-corruption advisor to the U.S. Congress.

It was not known immediately how many wealthy Russian elites, especially oligarchs close to Putin, have stashed money in Swiss banks, known for their strong privacy firewalls. But various leaks of banking documents over the years suggest they have a sizable amount invested in Switzerland.

In 2018, Swiss banks reportedly frozen $1 billion in the accounts of one oligarch alone – Russian metals tycoon Viktor Vekselberg – over fears that they could be fined for doing business with him after Washington levied sanctions against the businessman, the Moscow Times reported at the time.

– Josh Meyer

US Embassy urges Americans in Russia to consider leaving 'immediately'

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Sunday that American citizens “should consider departing Russia immediately” because of the dramatic drop-off in airline service in and out of the country.

“An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines,” a security alert posted to the embassy’s website states. “U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available.”

The guidance comes after the EU's move to close its airspace to Russian airlines. Russian airline Aeroflot says it cancelled all flights to Europe.

The State Department had already advised Americans not to travel to Russia because of its aggression against Ukraine, as well as the potential harassment of U.S. citizens in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.

– Deirdre Shesgreen

UN emergency session scheduled for Monday

The U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.

The vote on Sunday to authorize an emergency meeting was 11 in favor, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. That was the exact same vote on a resolution Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.

Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya asked for the General Assembly meeting to be held under the so-called “Uniting for Peace” resolution, initiated by the U.S. and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Korean War.

That resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call emergency meetings when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members – the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.

– Associated Press

Ukraine civilian death toll hits 352, officials say

The civilian death toll from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has risen to 352, including 14 children, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal affairs said Sunday. The ministry said 1,684 people had been injured.

The United Nations had announced the civilian death toll had reached 240 by Saturday, but stressed that the actual figure was potentially "considerably higher.”

– Jay Cannon

US urges Americans in Ukraine to find best exit routes

Officials with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued a new advisory Sunday, telling Americans to choose departure routes very carefully if they are trying to flee.

“Ukraine’s roads are in many cases crowded, exposed to combat operations, and infrastructure such as bridges in some locations has been destroyed,” the embassy said in a notice. “Sheltering in place may remain the best option for some.”

Most border crossings into Poland and all main crossing points into Moldova “are severely backed up,” with extremely long wait times – in some cases, more than 30 hours, the embassy said.

“We recommend that, if possible, U.S. citizens consider redirecting to border crossings with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, which are currently experiencing lower wait times to cross,” the note says. “Note that conditions at each border can change very quickly and wait times can increase at any time without warning.”

– Deirdre Shesgreen

UPS, FedEx halt services in Russia

Shipping giants FedEx and UPS have suspended services to Russia amid the country’s military assault on Ukraine.

UPS said it had halted all international shipments to addresses in Russia as of Feb. 25. FedEx said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and had suspended inbound service to Russia “until further notice.”

Both companies had already stopped service to Ukraine, after Russian troops invaded the neighboring country. Russian troops have now advanced well into Ukrainian territory, reaching its second largest city and encircling the capital, Kyiv.

– Deirdre Shesgreen

McMaster: Putin got ‘more than he bargained for’

Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday that Ukrainians are doing a “tremendous job” defending the country against Russian military attacks.

“I think Putin got a lot more than he bargained for. He's in a very difficult position. And I think anything we can do, obviously, financially, going after his international criminal enterprise with sanctions and so forth is important. But the support for Ukraine's ability to defend themselves is also important,” McMaster told Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The retired lieutenant general also said the seizure of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv is “not in the cards for the immediate future,” but acknowledged the next 72 hours are going to be “really critical.”

– Chelsey Cox

Kyiv mayor: 'We are encircled'

KYIV, Ukraine – As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv's mayor is both filled with pride over his citizens' spirit and anxious about how long they can hold out.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv.

“We can't do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said. “Right now we are encircled."

When Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Thursday, the city of 2.8 million people initially reacted with concern but also a measure of self-possession. However, nerves started fraying when grocery stores began closing and the city's famously deep subway system turned its stations into bomb shelters.

The mayor confirmed to the AP that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child.

A Klitschko-ordered curfew began about sundown on Saturday and is to extend until at least 8 a.m. Monday. His order pointedly stated that any unauthorized person outside could be considered a saboteur.

“We are hunting these people, and it will be much easier if nobody is on the street," Klitschko explained, saying that six Russian “saboteurs” were killed Saturday night.

In the last few days, long queues of people — both men and women — were spotted waiting to pick up weapons throughout the capital, after authorities decided to distribute weapons freely to anybody ready to defend the city. There are concerns, however, about arming nervous civilians with little military experience amid warnings of Russian saboteurs disguised as Ukrainian police or journalists.

“To be honest, we don't have 100% control,” said Klitschko. “We built this territorial defense in a short amount of time — but these are patriotic people."

“Right now, the most important question is to defend our country,” he added.

– Associated Press

EU closing airspace to Russia

The top official in the European Union said the bloc will take unprecedented new steps after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised tensions with talk of nuclear weapons.

The EU will close its airspace to Russian airlines, including "the private jets of oligarchs," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU,” she said.

"For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack,” she added.

The EU will also ban pro-Kremlin media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, she said.

The European Commission's plans followed the announcement earlier in the day that Germany was committing 100 billion euros ($113 billion) to a special armed forces fund and would keep its defense spending above 2% of GDP from now on. The shift underscored how Russia’s war on Ukraine was rewriting Europe’s post-World War II security and defense policy in ways that were unthinkable only a few weeks ago.

The EU’s plan to fund weapons purchases was unprecedented and would use millions of euros to help buy air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces. It would also supply things like fuel, protective gear, helmets and first aid kits.

– Katie Wadington and AP

On nuclear deterrence:What is DEFCON? What's nuclear deterrence? What to know amid Putin's warning

BP pulls out of Russian oil company

Oil giant BP will walk away from its nearly 20% stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, according to media reports.

BP Chairman Helge Lund issued a statement announcing the exit, as well as the resignation of BP CEO Bernard Looney from the board of the Russian oil firm.

BP has been a shareholder in Rosneft since 2013, according to the BBC.

Sen. Mark Warner: Putin’s invasion a major ‘miscalculation'

Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Putin “totally underestimated” the resolve of the Ukrainians and the support building worldwide for the Ukrainian people, describing the Russian invasion so far as a major “miscalculation.”

“Remarkably what he's also been able to do his unify the vast majority of us in the Senate, Democrats, Republicans alike,” Warner said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And he’s going to pay a high price.”

Warner said Putin over the past few years became “more and more isolated.”

“When you are an authoritarian leader, and you’re only hearing from people that want to say to the boss, hey, you're right. I think that leads to miscalculation. I think that is what has happened in the case of this invasion in Ukraine.”

– Joey Garrison

US ambassador: No US 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine

As she made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made clear that the U.S. response to the invasion of Ukraine will not include American troops or air personnel.

"The president has made clear that we're not going to put boots on the ground," Thomas-Greenfield said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Thomas-Greenfield said that mandate includes no patrols of any "no-fly zone" in the region.

The U.S. will provide whatever assistance it can to Ukraine, working with NATO partners, she said, but: "We're not going to put American troops in danger. So that means we're not going to put American troops in the air as well. But we will work with the Ukrainians to give them the ability to defend themselves.”

– David Jackson

Russian troops stalled outside Kyiv

The main force of Russian assault aimed at Kyiv remained stalled Sunday about 18 miles from the city’s center, hindered by stiff Ukrainian resistance and Russia’s own problems providing fuel and supplies for its troops, according to a senior Defense Department official.

There are indications of some fighting inside Kyiv and that Russian troops in Ukrainian military uniforms have appeared there, said the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

The officials described Ukrainian resistance as stiff and creative around Kyiv and Kharkiv. Meantime, fuel shortages and logistics problems for Russian troops are most acute near Kharkiv.

The war is a major operation for Russia’s military, a complex mission that it does not have recent experience mounting, the official said. It’s unclear if the shortages in materials represent a failure in planning or execution. However, the official said Russian officers are expected to learn and adapt to its logistical problems.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, there are troubling indications that Russia is encircling the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, and could be planning to besiege it, the official said. There are increasing rocket attacks there, imprecise weapons that can kill civilians and damage infrastructure.

Overall, Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed two-thirds of the combat forces he deployed against Ukraine is now inside the country, the official said.

Russia has launched more 320 ballistic missiles into Ukraine during the four-day war. There are some indications that several ballistic missiles have failed to launch.

– Tom Vanden Brook

U.S.: Putin ‘can be assured’ of tougher sanctions

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Sunday the U.S. will continue to apply stiffer economic sanctions against Russia as Putin escalates fighting in Ukraine.

"We are continuing to assess what we can do moving forward," Thomas-Greenfield said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." "And the Russians can be assured that we will continue to put more and more sanctions as they continue to press more on the Ukrainian government.”

U.S. and Western allies have cut some Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial system but stopped short of a complete removal.

“They will feel the pain,” she said, adding there are also actions the U.N. can take.

“We can isolate them. We can isolate them in the United Nations. We can isolate them in U.N. specialized agencies. They are feeling that isolation.”

– Joey Garrison

NATO leader: Russia must make 'serious compromises' in peace talks

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said if peace talks are to succeed, Russia must be willing to make "serious compromises" and "respect the sovereignty of Ukraine."

Stoltenberg told CNN's "State of the Union" that Putin's decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert is not a good sign.

It "just adds to the very aggressive rhetoric" of Russia, the NATO leader said.

– David Jackson

Ukraine ambassador: Russia committing ‘war crimes’

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States accused Russia of committing war crimes in its attack on her country.

Ambassador Oksana Markarova said Sunday that Russian troops are using heavy missiles and heavy artillery to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, as well as hospitals and kindergartens. Many children have been killed, and one entire family was shot in their car, she said.

“Nothing is off limits to them,” Markarova said on ABC’s "This Week." “What we see is a full-fledged war, with war crimes on the ground.”’

Asked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is safe, Markarova offered no information on his whereabouts but added, “He is as safe as our country.”

She spoke shortly after Zelenskyy’s office confirmed that a delegation will meet with Russian officials. Marakova said Ukraine is ready “for any peace talks that would stop the war and get them out from our country.” But the Ukrainians will not surrender, she said.

– Michael Collins

Cotton: West must stop ‘pussyfooting around’ on sanctions

Sen. Tom Cotton on Sunday called on the Biden administration and American businesses to provide “no support whatsoever” to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.

“We can do more than prayers and hashtags and lining up building storage,” he said on ABC’s "This Week." “It's time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussyfooting around.”

Cotton appealed to the Biden administration to increase its sanctions on Russian banks, arguing that while the administration says it has sanctioned 80% of Russian banks, Russian President Vladimir Putin “controls 100% of banks.”

The Arkansas Republican also blamed Western nations for underestimating Putin’s ambition.

Despite a strong condemnation of Putin, Cotton stopped short of condemning former President Donald Trump, who has called Putin “smart” and his plan both “savvy” and “genius.” Cotton repeatedly said he does not speak for other politicians.

– Ella Lee

‘This is a different Putin’: Rice says Putin ‘erratic’

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin recent behavior is a departure from her past encounters with the “cold and calculating” leader.

“This is a different Putin,” Rice, who served under former President George W. Bush, said on "Fox News Sunday." “He seems erratic… He has descended into something I have not seen before.”

While Rice said the prospect of peace talks was promising, she urged Ukraine to follow the advice of former President Ronald Reagan.

“Trust but verify,” she said. “It’s always a good thing if there is a chance (at peace),” she said.

– Kevin Johnson

More:A song of defiance: Ukraine's national anthem being heard all over the world

Psaki: Putin 'manufacturing threats' to justify attack on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert is another example of the Russian leader “manufacturing threats” to justify aggression against Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday.

“We’ve seen him do this time and time again,” Psaki said on ABC’s "This Week." “At no time has Russia been under threat from NATO.”

“This is all a pattern from President Putin,” Psaki said, “and we’re all going to stand up” to him.

– Michael Collins

Condoleeza Rice: Putin faces unexpected reality in Ukraine

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin may have “bitten off more than he can chew” perhaps forcing early peace talks.

Rice, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," said Putin likely believed that he could "waltz" into Ukraine.

“But the reality has been quite different.”

– Kevin Johnson

Romney casts the war as a battle of 'good and evil'

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, cast Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion as a battle of "good and evil," and called for more sanctions on the "evil regime" of Vladimir Putin.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Romney also said he hopes Putin will use potential peace talks with Ukraine as an opportunity to back off.

"He made a huge error," Romney said of Putin. "This is not going well for him."

– David Jackson

More:Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

‘A thug and despot’: Putin to feel pain of new financial sanctions

Removing Russia from a global banking network as part of a new round of sanctions “will make a big difference” in isolating the Kremlin, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The U.S. and its allies Saturday cut Russia from the key financial messaging network known as SWIFT, in an escalation of its sanctioning campaign.

Klobuchar called Putin “a thug and a despot,” who misjudged the world’s reaction to Russia aggression.

– Kevin Johnson

'Unacceptable': Thomas-Greenfield says Putin escalating conflict in Ukraine

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday that Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert indicates the Russian president is “continuing to escalate” the war in Ukraine in a way that is “unacceptable.”

Speaking on CBS’ "Face the Nation," Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. is using “every possible lever” to stop Russia’s invasion of its neighbor and that the U.N. Security Council will meet later Sunday.

“I’m not surprised at this information because Putin has tried every means possible to actually put fear in the world in terms of his actions. It just means that we need to ramp up up our actions at the U.N.”

When asked whether there’s a threat of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield responded: “Certainly nothing is off the table with this guy.”

– Sean Rossman

Putin orders nuclear deterrent forces on high alert

Russia President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces Sunday to be on high alert, a dramatic escalation of tensions with the West that brought immediate condemnation from the U.S. as Russia continues its full-scale assault on Ukraine.

Putin, announcing the move on Russian state television, called it a response to “aggressive statements” and tough financial sections from NATO countries. The extraordinary step raises the threat of nuclear warfare entering the conflict in Ukraine, a scenario the White House has previously said it has not assessed.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, condemned the action as “unacceptable" in an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Putin directed the Russian defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty” during a meeting with top officials.

“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.

At the onset of the conflict with Ukraine, Putin warned that any nation that would “hinder us” will face" such consequences that you have never encountered in your history,” although he did not elaborate what he meant.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

-- Joey Garrison, Associated Press

Kyiv eerily quiet after explosions

The capital, Kyiv, was eerily quiet after huge explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports. Only an occasional car appeared on a deserted main boulevard as a strict 39-hour curfew kept people off the streets. Terrified residents instead hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault.

“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “There is not a single facility in the country that the occupiers wouldn’t consider as admissible targets.”

Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The images showed Russian troops roaming the city in small groups. In one image, Ukrainian troops were seen firing at the Russians and damaged Russian light utility vehicles abandoned nearby.

The images underscored the determined resistance Russian troops face while attempting to enter Ukraine’s bigger cities. Ukrainians have volunteered en masse to help defend the capital, Kyiv, and other cities, taking guns distributed by authorities and preparing firebombs to fight Russian forces.

– Associated Press

Zelenskyy asks UN top court to halt Russian invasion, says Moscow 'manipulating the notion of genocide'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of manipulating the notion of genocide to justify invading its neighbor and urged the International Court of Justice to hold trials.

Located in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ICJ is the main judicial arm of the United Nations.

"Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

The ICJ rules on disputes between states, including responsibility for breaches of international law. It is not linked to the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals accountable for atrocities.

– Caren Bohan and Associated Press

Zelenskyy is a lion of a leader | Opinion

“I need ammunition, not a ride.” Those are the words proclaimed by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the midst of terrible death and destruction and the most egregious threat to Europe since World War II, Ukrainians are teaching the rest of the world a lesson about freedom, resolve and love of country.

When offered an escape from Kyiv, allegedly by the United States, the 44-year-old Ukrainian president immediately rejected the notion and demonstrated selfless leadership and a portrait of courage generally reserved for Hollywood.

Many leaders would have abandoned ship, putting their own personal safety above that of their countrymen. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, is taking a stand for freedom, boldly demonstrating that freedom is worth fighting for; that a government of, by and for the people is worth defending.

– August Pfluger (Read more of August Pfluger's column.)

NHL star Alex Ovechkin called over over stance on war

Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek has called for the NHL to "immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players" amidst Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine.

The 57-year-old Czech also had some choice words for Washington Capitals' Russian-born star Alex Ovechkin, a supporter of President Vladimir Putin.

Hasek, who played in the NHL for 16-seasons and is widely considered one of the best goaltenders of all time, called Ovechkin an "alibist," a "liar" and a "chicken (expletive)" after Ovechkin failed to publicly denounce Putin and his country's aggression.

– Cydney Henderson

Ukraine rejects location for talks with Russia

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks with Russia but not in Belarus.

Speaking in a video message Sunday, Zelenskyy suggested meeting in Warsaw, Poland; Bratislava, Slovakia; Istanbul; Budapest, Hungary; or Baku, Azerbaijan. He said other locations are also possible but made clear that Ukraine doesn’t accept Russia’s selection of Belarus, which Russia has used as a staging ground for its invasion.

The Kremlin said Sunday a Russian delegation had arrived in Homel, Belarus, for talks with Ukrainian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the delegation includes military officials and diplomats.

– Associated Press

Russia's cutting off port access

Russia was working Sunday to limit strategic strategic ports along the Ukraine’s coastline stretching from the border with Romania in the west to the border with Russia in the east. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Russian forces had blocked the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.

Russia’s military also put increasing pressure on strategic ports in the south of Ukraine, blocking the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.

Cutting Ukraine’s access to its sea ports would deal a major blow to the country’s economy.

-- Associated Press

Russia targets Ukraine airfields in next phase

Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.

Huge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.

-- Associated Press

Where are Russian military forces? Tracking the Ukraine invasion

'You cannot defeat a whole nation'

On Sunday morning, Ukranian writer Illarion Pavliuk plans to set out on a dangerous journey to help his countrymen as explosions rock Kyiv, and outgunned Ukrainian forces continue to maintain control of their capital.

Pavliuk is not a solider, but he does have a military background. In 2015, he was an intelligence volunteer in the war in Eastern Ukraine. And yet, this is what Ukraine has become – a country where internationally acclaimed artists are forced to kiss their children goodnight before they go off to defend their homeland from the occupying force. "We will never give up and we are going to win this war. You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now."

His words are haunting and powerful, with his children in the background.

"What can I tell you about this war? It is difficult to say a couple of words," he says. "I would never ever imagine my four children dropping their toys and running to sit in the thickest doorway in the house because of cruise missiles above our city; ballistic missiles.

"And I would never imagine this and I will never forgive Russia."

– Carli Pierson, USA TODAY

Biden and Zelensky planning to meet in Washington for Ukrainian ...

CNN —

President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are planning to meet at the White House on Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the planning, in a Washington visit that is tentatively scheduled to include an address to a joint session of Congress.

Zelensky is already on his way to Washington, two separate sources said, for a visit that marks his first trip outside of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February of this year.

The visit to the White House, which hasn’t been finalized and has remained tightly held due to security concerns, will include a meeting with Biden and top administration officials and is planned to coincide with the administration’s intent to send the country a new defense assistance package. Biden will announce an additional $1.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine during the expected visit, a significant boost in aid headlined by the Patriot missile systems within the package, a US official told CNN.

The new announcement will add to the nearly $20 billion in US security assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, and will come at the same moment US lawmakers are considering a sweeping government spending measure that includes an additional $45 billion in emergency assistance to the country.

The White House declined to comment on a potential visit or Biden announcement or new security assistance announcements.

Lawmakers are also planning for Zelensky to visit Capitol Hill to speak on Wednesday evening, though sources say the visit hasn’t been finalized as officials work through security preparations. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t confirm reports Zelensky would be coming to the Capitol on Wednesday, saying, “I don’t know that that’s going to happen.”

“We don’t know yet. We just don’t know,” she said.

When asked by CNN if the invitation had been made to him, she said: “No. Not until we know if he can come.”

A visit by the Ukrainian leader to Washington would amount to a significant moment 10 months since Russia’s war in Ukraine began. Zelensky has emerged as an international personification of Ukrainian resistance to the invasion and has spent much of the year asking nations for support.

He’s delivered those appeals virtually, beaming into international summits and global legislatures to make his case for more weapons and funding. He has remained inside his country for the duration of the war, a reflection both of his desire to rally his besieged country and the precarious security situation he would face outside Ukraine.

At the start of the war, Zelensky remained bunkered down in the capital Kyiv, often addressing the nation from undisclosed locations. More recently, he’s traveled to some of the war’s fronts, including on Tuesday when he visited the frontline city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in brutal battle there for months.

Zelensky met with soldiers and handed out awards, according to his office. Video posted by state TV showed the president clad in fatigues and a flak vest presenting awards to troops. Bakhmut has seen some of the most ferocious fighting in the whole of the country since Russian forces launched their siege on the city in earnest in May, turning it into ruins.

Pelosi has been making calls to members urging them to show up to the Capitol on Wednesday over fears the chamber would be empty ahead of the holiday recess, one member said. Pelosi asked for members to be in attendance Wednesday night “for a very special focus on Democracy.”

The expectation from members, per several sources, is Zelensky will address Congress on Wednesday. But the sources caution that this may not be final yet over security concerns.

Ukraine has been calling for the US to send the advanced long-range air defense system that is highly effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles as it comes under a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed key infrastructure across the country.

A Patriot missile battery would be the most effective long-range defensive weapons system sent to the country and officials say it will help secure airspace for NATO nations in eastern Europe. CNN first reported last week that the US was planning to send Patriot systems to Ukraine.

It is not clear how many missile launchers will be sent but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar set that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each holding four ready-to-fire missiles.

Once the plans are finalized, the Patriots are expected to ship quickly in the coming days and Ukrainians will be trained to use them at a US Army base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, officials said.

Ukraine has been asking for the system for months but the logistical challenges of delivering it and operating it are immense. Despite those obstacles, “the reality of what is going on the ground” led the administration to make the decision, the senior administration official told CNN, noting the continuing intense Russian missile barrages.

Unlike smaller air defense systems, Patriot missile batteries need much larger crews, requiring dozens of personnel to properly operate them. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.

The system is widely considered one of the most capable long-range weapons to defend airspace against incoming ballistic and cruise missiles as well as some aircraft. Because of its long-range and high-altitude capability, it can potentially shoot down Russian missiles and aircraft far from their intended targets inside Ukraine.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Phil Mattingly Kevin Liptak Manu Raju Kaitlan Collins

Ukraine recap: Biden takes aim at Putin in State of the Union address

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Tuesday, March 1. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 2 as Russia's invasion continues.

Russian military forces escalated attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine's largest cities Tuesday, even as its massive convoy of tanks and vehicles appeared to bog down.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an attack Tuesday on the main square of the country's second-largest city “frank, undisguised terror. Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget. This attack on Kharkiv is a war crime.”

At least 11 people were killed and 35 wounded in the rocket strike, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said, adding that the death toll is expected to rise. Closed-circuit television footage showed a fireball engulfing a street in front of one building, and a few cars rolled out of the billowing smoke.

Russian strikes on Kyiv’s TV tower also killed five people.

The Russian military advance drew to within 15 miles of Kyiv’s center amid signs that troops are running out of gas and food, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday. Russia has committed about 80% of the combat force President Vladimir Putin deployed to invade Ukraine, the official said.

Ukrainian resistance is continuing, and it has helped stymie the advance, according to the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings. It is also possible the Russians are pausing to regroup and reassess their attack, the official said.

Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Tuesday concerning Russian sanctions and defense assistance to Ukraine. The White House confirmed that they spoke for more than 30 minutes.

"We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible," Zelenskyy tweeted. "Thank you for your support!"

Biden gave his first State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night amid the war abroad, condemning Russia for its "unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine and confirming the closing of U.S. airspace to Russian planes.

Biden said the U.S. and western allies are enforcing "powerful economic sanctions," including cutting off Russia's largest banks from international financial systems, preventing Russia's central bank from shoring up the Russian ruble and "making Putin's $260 billion war fund worthless."

“Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been,” he said.

Hospital workers transferred a Kharkiv maternity ward to a bomb shelter. Amid mattresses piled up against the walls, pregnant women paced the crowded space to the cries of dozens of newborns.

Zelenskyy said he believes Russian shelling of civilian areas is an attempt by Russia to put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions. No peace deal can be reached “when one side is hitting another with rocket artillery,” he said.

In Geneva, dozens of diplomats from the U.S., the U.K. and other European countries walked out in protest when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was addressing the UN Human Rights Council and Conference on Disarmament.

THE NEWS COMES TO YOU: Get the latest updates on the situation in Ukraine. Sign up here

Latest updates:

►Apple said it would stop selling its products in Russia. The company doesn't have physical stores in Russia but ships devices through its online stores and sells its products through retail stores there.

►ExxonMobil said it would discontinue operations of the Sakhalin-1 project and leave the venture, which involves Russia among other countries, and that it would not invest in new developments in Russia.

►At least two international humanitarian groups accused Russia of using cluster bombs, which open in the air and rain down multiple explosives over a wide area with little accuracy. Moscow denied the allegation.

►At least 677,000 refugees have already fled from Ukraine into neighboring countries, most to Poland, said Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

►Zelenskyy, in an address to the European parliament Tuesday, said his country is fighting "to be equal members of Europe. We have proven that, as a minimum, we are the same as you.”

►The State Department has closed the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, a Russian neighbor and supporter, and is allowing non-essential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Russia to leave the country.

TRACK THE INVASION:Satellite images, surveillance footage, social media posts show the latest on the war in Ukraine

USA TODAY FACT CHECK ROUNDUP:What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

United States to ban Russian planes from American airspace

President Joe Biden announced State of the Union address Tuesday night that the U.S. is closing its airspace to Russian planes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, .

The U.S. joins a growing list of countries that have announced plans to close their airspace to Russian aircraft in response to the invasion. The European Union took that step Sunday after several European countries, including France, Italy and Denmark, announced the move. Canada also joined the international move to cut off Russian aircraft.

– Michael Collins and Courtney Subramanian

Biden says 'no more' to Russian oligarchs; sanctions strangling Putin

Biden said at the State of the Union Tuesday night that the U.S. and western allies are enforcing "powerful economic sanctions," including cutting off Russia's largest banks from international financial systems, preventing Russia's central bank from shoring up the Russian ruble and "making Putin's $260 billion war fund worthless."

The president, who praised Ukraine’s resolve on the battlefield, also said the Justice Department is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russia’s wealthiest people. He pledged that the U.S., along with European allies, will look seize Russian yachts, luxury apartments and private jets.

“We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” Biden said.

The president also said coordinated sanctions are "choking off Russia's access to technology" that will weaken its military and undermine its economic strength.

– Courtney Subramanian and Phillip M. Bailey

US to release 30 million barrels from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Biden said at the State of the Union the U.S. is working with 30 countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around world to ease the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy markets.

The U.S. is leading the effort by releasing 30 million barrels from its own Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he said.

“These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home,” he said.

– Michael Collins

Ukraine: Attack on TV tower kills 5, damages Babi Yar Holocaust Center

Russian strikes on Kyiv’s TV tower killed five people, wounded others and damaged the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office tweeted that a "powerful barrage" was underway and that a missile hit the center.

The Nazis shot tens of thousands of people at Babi Yar, including almost the entire Jewish population of Kyiv.

"To the world: what is the point of saying 'never again' for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?" Zerenskyy tweeted. "At least 5 killed. History repeating…"

US official: Russian force may be regrouping

The 40-mile convoy approaching Kyiv has made little progress because of resistance and a lack of gas and food, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings.

The official said the Russians also are likely protecting the convoy, explaining why it does not appear to have been attacked. The airspace over Ukraine continues to be contested by Ukrainian and Russian forces, the official said.

There are also signs that there are morale problems among Russian troops, many of whom have been drafted into service, the official said, declining to say how the Pentagon has made that assessment. Many of the soldiers are young men who have not been thoroughly trained or even aware why they were sent to Ukraine.

The Russians, however, have a potent force in and around Ukraine, the official said.

The Russians have systems capable of launching thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, the official said. Those fuel-air weapons are used primarily to kill people on the ground or in bunkers.

– Tom Vanden Brook

Ukraine refugees find open doors through online sites

At a time when desperate Ukrainians are fleeing their country by the hundreds of thousands, online connections are helping them find refuge in other countries.

Facebook groups such as Host A Sister and Accommodation, Help & Shelter for Ukraine are among the sites serving as a link between those escaping the war in Ukraine and hosts willing to open their doors to them.

Iryna Yarmolenko, who served as a council member for the Ukrainian city of Bucha, fled with her mother and 5-year-old son last week and found a safe place with a couple in Lublin, Poland, after posting a request for help on the Host A Sister page.

"Even if it was just with their words: 'Iryna, we are here. Tell me what you need,' ... I felt myself not so alone." she said. "I was totally broken because I left all my stuff, all my dreams, all my house, all my career, all my everything."

– Bailey Schulz and Eve Chen

Ice skating, skiing and basketball join growing list of sports entities barring Russians

In addition to the economic sanctions piling up against Russia for invading Ukraine, the sports bans continue to mount.

On Tuesday, Russia was barred from competing in international ice skating, skiing, basketball, track and some tennis events, a day after being kicked out of soccer competitions and hockey – President Vladimir Putin’s favorite team sport. The decisions follow the IOC’s request to international sports federations to keep Russian athletes out of events they organize.

The International Skating Union, which runs the sport around the world, said it won't allow any competitors from Russia to participate in its events, which would exclude Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova and 15-year-old star Kamila Valieva from the world figure skating championships in France later this month. Athletes from Belarus, which has supported Russia's attack, will also be barred.

Court will look into whether Russia has committed war crimes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of committing war crimes during the invasion, and the International Criminal Court's prosecutor said he would investigate.

But what exactly are war crimes? Are they attacks on civilian populations? Launching rockets into residential areas? Other forms of cruelty in what's an inherently brutal endeavor like war?

The definition of a war crime has evolved over time, but Dustin Lewis, research director for the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, said it encompasses two criteria.

"First, the conduct must be committed with a sufficient connection to an armed conflict,'' he said. "Second, the conduct must constitute a serious violation of the laws and customs of international humanitarian law that has been criminalized by international treaty or customary law."

– Ryan W. Miller

Mayor describes Kharkiv's situation as 'pretty grave'

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Tuesday that his government remained in control but said the city is surrounded by Russian troops.

“Military equipment and armored vehicles are coming from different directions,” he told The Washington Post in a phone interview.

Terekhov said a government building and the opera and ballet theater were among buildings shelled. Transformer stations were also struck by artillery, cutting off power to much of the city, he said. The shelling stalled efforts to supply the city with food and medical supplies, he said.

“There are casualties, and by now, there are certainly a lot more of them, after the night and morning shelling,” he told the Post. “The situation is pretty grave.”

Diplomats in Geneva walk out on Lavrov speech

More than 100 diplomats from dozens of nations walked out on a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday in protest of the invasion. Lavrov spoke remotely from Russia because he said his flight path to Geneva was blocked by governments that closed their airspace to Russian planes. He accused the West of "Russophobic frenzy."

Ambassador Michèle Taylor, the U.S. representative to the council, said the diplomats were working to ensure Russia's leaders were held accountable for the "illegal war" against Ukraine.

"As widespread human rights abuses continue + civilian casualties mount, we #StandwithUkraine in rejecting Lavrov’s lies," Taylor tweeted. "Russia is isolated."

Actor Sean Penn flees Ukraine on foot

Filmmaker and actor Sean Penn confirmed he has evacuated to Poland after spending time in Ukraine working on a documentary about the conflict. The actor shared a photo of himself Monday carrying a suitcase while walking along the side of a backed-up highway as many others attempted to flee Ukraine.

"Myself & two colleagues walked miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road," Penn wrote. "Almost all the cars in this photo carry women & children only, most without any sign of luggage, and a car their only possession of value."

Penn said Putin has made a "most horrible mistake for all of humankind" and that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people "have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams."

Penn's visit drew accolades from Zelenskyy.

"Sean Penn demonstrates the courage that many others, especially western politicians lack," the president's office wrote on Facebook. "The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country."

– Elise Brisco

Cities under siege: A look at Kyiv and Kharkiv by the numbers

The war has thrown a global spotlight on Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Kyiv's (KEE-ev) population of 2.7 million people would make it the third largest in the U.S. slightly ahead of Chicago. The city covers 330 square miles – bigger than Chicago or New York, about the size of San Diego. Kyiv is in north central Ukraine, not far from the borders with Russia and Belarus. Ukrainian and Russian are commonly spoken in the city, among the oldest in Eastern Europe.

Kharkiv (kar-KEEV), 300 miles east of Kyiv and near the Russian border, has a population of about 1.4 million spread over about 135 square miles – about the size of Philadelphia, which has a population of about 1.5 million.

Ukraine has a population of about 44 million people, 4 million more than California, and is about 233,000 square miles – a bit smaller than Texas.

NATO chief says nuclear alert level unchanged

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday visited troops in Poland with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Poland shares a border with Ukraine, and the air base in the central Poland city of Lask is home to NATO’s Polish and U.S. F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.

"We are increasing our presence in the east to defend & protect our people," Stoltenberg said in a social media post. "Allies are stepping up support for #Ukraine & imposing costs on #Russia. The world stands with Ukraine in calling for peace."

Despite Russia’s threats about nuclear weapons, the alliance sees no need to change its nuclear weapons alert level, Stoltenberg said. And while Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it is the alliance's responsibility to “ensure that we don’t see a development where a conflict in Ukraine spiraled out of control and becomes a full-fledged confrontation between NATO and Russia in Europe."

Google, other big tech firms grapple with Russian state media, propaganda

Big tech platforms have begun restricting Russian state media from using their platforms to spread propaganda and misinformation. Google announced Tuesday that it's blocking the YouTube channels of those outlets in Europe effective immediately but said it could take some time to get all of them removed. Other U.S.-owned tech companies have also taken steps, including labeling more content so people know it originated with the Russian government and cutting Russian state organizations off from ad revenue.

The changes are intended to slow the Kremlin from pumping propaganda into social media feeds without persuading Russian officials to block their citizens from access to platforms during a crucial time of war, said Katie Harbath, a former public policy director for Facebook. Read more here.

"They’re trying to walk this very fine line; they’re doing this dance,” she said.

War threatens Russian space partnerships with US, Europe

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns about the country's relationship with the United States in space, a union that has remained intact despite geopolitical rifts between the two countries.

Four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European Space Agency astronaut are stationed aboard the International Space Station, their home traveling 17,500 mph some 200 mile above Earth – where Russia has drawn international rebuke for its invasion of Ukraine. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is scheduled to return March 30 aboard a Russian spacecraft.

President Joe Biden has promised sanctions will target the Russian aerospace industry, a warning that led to a tweet from Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin asking "who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe."

The European Space Agency also works with Russia. A planned launch of a European-Russian mission to Mars this year is "very unlikely," the space agency said Monday.

– Emre Kelly, Florida Today

Contributing: Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Ukraine: Russian forces close in on heart of Kyiv - recap

Editor's note: This page recaps the news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, Feb. 25. Follow here for the latest updates on the attack in Kyiv on Saturday, Feb. 26.

***

Russian forces closed in on Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, but dawn brought limited clarity about how far the invading troops had penetrated into the Ukrainian capital, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had vowed defiance through the night.

"We must survive this night,” Zelenskyy – who told Ukrainians earlier that Russia has marked him as “target No. 1” – said in a video message before morning arrived in Kyiv.

As Saturday began, Zelenskyy tweeted that he had started “a new day on the diplomatic frontline” with a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, with “weapons and equipment from our partners” on the way.

But the danger remained far from over to the former Soviet republic. Photos from Ukraine detailed destruction by Russian troops and bombs, with Ukrainian citizens huddled in underground bomb shelters or trying to flee their country to safety, carrying family members and what possessions they could. Authorities in Kyiv described fighting in the streets and urged residents to seek shelter.

U.S. President Joe Biden was slated to meet with his national security team on Saturday morning; the U.S. and other nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and on its president, Vladimir Putin, in the hopes that the economic price will force Russia from its current path.

Zelenskyy government:What happens if Kyiv falls? What would a government in exile look like?

Dawn breaks in Kyiv

As dawn broke in Kyiv, it was not immediately clear how far the soldiers had advanced. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were probing Ukrainian defenses to clear a path for the main forces.

But the swift movement of the troops after less than three days of fighting further imperiled a country clinging to independence in the face of a broad Russian assault, which threatened to topple the democratic government and scramble the post-Cold War world order.

The street clashes followed fighting that pummeled bridges, schools and apartment buildings, and resulted in hundreds of casualties.

-- The Associated Press

Delta ends Russian partnership

Delta has withdrawn its codeshare services operated in conjunction with Russian national airline, Aeroflot, effective immediately. Codeshare allows one airline to sell seats on flights operated by other airlines

"We have removed our code from Aeroflot-operated services beyond Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and removed Aeroflot’s code from Delta-operated services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK," Delta said in a statement.

Delta does not operate services to Ukraine or Russia.

-- Craig Harris

US Dept of State warns Americans in Russia to stay away from protests

The U.S. Department of State early on Saturday warned Americans in Russia to “avoid demonstrations and any demonstration-related activities” because of the possibility of widespread arrests.

“According to social media sources, there have been calls for demonstrations throughout Russia, including in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, in opposition to the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces against Ukraine,” the State Department noted in an online alert.

“The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens that the Department of State’s Travel Advisory level for Russia is at “Level 4: Do Not Travel” for reasons including harassment against U.S. citizens, harassment by Russian government security officials, and the arbitrary enforcement of local law,” the statement added.

-- Luciana Lopez

Zelenskyy and Macron speak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted early Saturday morning that he and French President Emmanuel Macron had spoken by phone.

"A new day on the diplomatic frontline began with a conversation with @EmmanuelMacron. Weapons and equipment from our partners are on the way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is working!" Zelenskyy tweeted.

-- Luciana Lopez

Blinken, South Korea foreign minister speak

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday to discuss the two allies’ cooperation over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, including Seoul’s participation in a U.S.-led economic pressure campaign against Moscow.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Chung and Blinken reaffirmed the allies’ “strong condemnation” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and they urged Russia to immediately cease its takeover attempt.

Blinken thanked South Korea for its support of Ukraine and its willingness to participate in international sanctions against Russia, the ministry said.

-- Associated Press

Better trained, better equipped:What you should know about Russia and Ukraine's militaries

'I need ammunition, not a ride'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer.

Zelenskyy said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelenskyy as upbeat.

Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.

-- Associated Press

More:Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's actor president, prepares for his greatest role yet

Second Russian transport plane shot down

A second Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane was shot down near Bila Tserkva, 50 miles (85 kilometers) south of Kyiv, according to two American officials with direct knowledge of conditions on the ground in Ukraine.

On Friday, Ukraine’s military said it had shot down a Russian military transport plane with paratroopers on board.

According to a statement from the military’s General Staff, the first Il-76 heavy transport plane was shot down near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles south of Kyiv. The Russian military has not commented on either incident so far, and the reports could not be immediately verified.

-- Associated Press

Fighting in the streets of Kyiv

Kyiv officials are warning residents that street fighting is underway against Russian forces, and they are urging people to seek shelter.

The warning issued Saturday advised residents to remain in shelters, to avoid going near windows or on balconies, and to take precautions against being hit by debris or bullets.

-- Associated Press

President refuses to flee, urges Ukraine to 'stand firm'

Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to “stand firm” against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: “The fight is here.”

Hundreds of casualties were reported in the fighting, which included shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools. There also were growing signs that Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government, which U.S. officials have described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate objective.

The assault represented Putin's boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence. It triggered new international efforts to end the invasion, including direct sanctions on Putin.

As his country confronted explosions and gunfire, and as the fate of Kyiv hung in the balance, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a bleak statement that multiple cities were under attack.

“This night we have to stand firm,” he said. "The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.”

'Hands off Ukraine!' Russian protesters, celebrities risk arrest to denounce Putin's war

Zelenskyy was urged to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation. The official quoted the president as saying that “the fight is here" and that he needed anti-tank ammunition but “not a ride.”

-- Associated Press

Battle for Ukrainian capital reportedly intensifying, with explosions seen and heard in Kyiv

Russian forces have reportedly moved in closer to Kyiv early Saturday morning, and explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital suggesting an escalation of fighting with Ukrainian defenders, according to CNN.

The cable network reported that operations by Ukrainian forces to repel the Russian advance were intensifying in the early morning hours of Saturday, Kyiv time, not long after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy warned that the battle could be over by morning.

"This night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said in a late-night video message Friday that was widely circulated on Twitter.

"This night we have to stand ground,” Zelenskyy said, surrounded by members of his national security team. “The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now."

CNN teams in the capital reported hearing loud explosions to the west and south of the city. And Ukraine's State Service of Special Communications said clashes were underway in an eastern suburb as Russian forces appeared to be closing in on Kyiv from at least three sides.

Earlier Saturday morning, the State Service of Special Communications reported: “Explosions in Kyiv. What is known? The enemy is trying to attack CHP-6 near Troieschyna. The Armed Forces give battle. Resistance continues in Vasylkiv, where enemy troops are trying to land.”

-- Josh Meyer

'It is at its worst tonight'

Konstantin Novikov is a yoga teacher living outside of Kyiv who is one of several residents who shared what life has been like the past few days. shared his Friday.

"They just started shooting. It's scary, you don't know where it's going to go.

10 min ago there was a lot (of shooting); many rockets . It's silent now, and we are waiting. We will go down with a neighbor to the entrance to the first floor and we will sit there. It seems safer."

...

"I have my car downstairs full of gas. I put my documents, money and some stuff in a little bag. In any moment i can take my bags, my cats, and run away if it is too scary to stay. ... Maybe I will go to the center of Ukraine. Somewhere where it is more safe. Mostly people are going to western Ukraine like Lviv. But right now I can only go through Kyiv because it is blocked any other way. Either by Russian troops on one side, or (on another road) the bridge was blown up to keep Russian troops from going over the road to Kyiv. So, I have only one way out from my city."

Unclear if Japan to join in Russia sanctions

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says he spoke with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the phone Saturday and agreed they must respond to Russian invasion of Ukraine properly to prevent it from becoming “a wrong lesson” because of its potential influence in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

Hayashi declined to comment if Japan plans to join the United States, Britain and the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said Japan will closely stay in touch with other Group of Seven members and the international society while watching the development.

Ukrainian soldier on Snake Island tells Russian officer 'go (expletive) yourself' before being killed

Hayashi told reporters that he and Blinken reassured their commitment to work closely with the rest of the international society. They agreed that it is necessary to respond to Russia properly and to absolutely reject the unilateral act to change the status quo and not leave “a wrong lesson.”

-- Associated Press

Russian troops march on

The Russian military said Friday it had encircled the cities of Sumy and Konotop in northeastern Ukraine, but was “taking steps to ensure civilians’ safety.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces have so far knocked out 211 Ukrainian military installations, including 17 command centers, 19 air defense missile systems, 39 radar units, 67 tanks and six warplanes. The Russian military also said it seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital.

Late Friday, the Russian military said it has taken over Melitopol, a city near the Azov Sea. The claim could not immediately be independently verified.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. defense official said it’s estimated that Russia has now launched more than 200 missiles into Ukraine and some have hit residential areas, although it was unclear if they were deliberately targeted.

But U.S. defense officials believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding slower than Moscow had envisioned.

-- Associated Press

Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine’s military reported shooting down an II-76 Russian transport plane carrying paratroopers near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Kyiv, an account confirmed by a senior American intelligence official. It was unclear how many were on board. Transport planes can carry up to 125 paratroopers.

"We must survive this night”

The U.S. and its European allies moved to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday as Russia's military pushed further into Ukraine in an invasion that threatened to topple its democratic government.

The White House announced the new sanctions after President Joe Biden met with fellow NATO heads of state to discuss the mounting crisis.

Ukrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures. Bridges and schools have been damaged in the shelling, which also sliced through a Kyiv apartment building.

As Russian troops neared the capital, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to stay and fight - and beckoned his fellow countrymen to do the same.

“You can not give up the capital," he said in a video message. "We must survive this night.”

The crisis has roiled the globe since Putin, in the pre-dawn hours of Moscow on Thursday, announced in a televised address that he was launching a military operation against Ukraine.

International backlash followed swiftly, with sanctions by the United States and a host of other countries. Biden said the new economic measures would "limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the global economy."

But, so far, those sanctions appear to have had little effect on Russia's attempt to take over the one-time Soviet Republic that has expressed a desire to someday join NATO.

• MOUNTING DEATH TOLL: Zelenskyy announced that 137 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed with hundreds more wounded.

• WHERE IS THE FIGHTING? Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was reported in several areas, as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off the attack.

• WHERE ARE UKRAINIANS GOING? Poland’s Border Guard says that some 29,000 people were cleared to enter through the country’s land border with neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, the day Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

WHY IS INVASION HAPPENING?:Why is Russia invading Ukraine? Could it be the start of WWIII? Here's what we know

A NEW COLD WAR?: How historians view Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution that it stop attacking Ukraine; China abstains

As expected, Russia vetoed a UN resolution on Friday evening demanding that Moscow stop its attack on Ukraine immediately and withdraw all troops. U.S. officials said they knew Moscow would oppose the measure but that they wanted to highlight Russia’s isolation within the international community.

The vote was 11 in favor, with Russia voting no. China, along with India and the United Arab Emirates, abstained.

The vote was delayed for two hours as the United States and Albania, co-sponsor of the resolution, worked behind the scenes to shore up support for the resolution among wavering nations, including Brazil.

“A line has been crossed, and this council cannot remain silent,” said Brazil’s Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho. He said his government was “gravely concerned” about Russia’s military action.

China’s decision to abstain was seen as a diplomatic victory for pro-Ukrainian forces, given its history of using its veto power alongside ally Russia.

-- Josh Meyer and Associated Press

Russia-Ukraine explained:Inside the crisis as US calls Russian movements an invasion

Ukrainian President vows to stay and fight advancing Russian troops in Kyiv

As Russian troops advanced on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv Friday evening, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a video statement that multiple cities were under attack and intent on seizing the capitol.

”The night will be harder than the day,” Zelenskyy said on the video, which was widely circulated on Twitter.

“At night they will storm,” he said in the message to Ukrainians. “You can not give up the capital. We must survive this night.”

Biden administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed Friday afternoon that U.S. officials believe Putin intends to try to take the capital and oust the government.

The explosions and gunfire in Kyiv fueled further fears of wider war in Europe and triggered new international efforts — including direct sanctions on President Vladimir Putin by the U.S., UK, European Union and Canada — to make Moscow stop.

-- Josh Meyer

U.S. to sanction Putin, other Russian officials

The United States is slapping sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and some of his deputies in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday the new sanctions will target Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and members of Russia’s national security team.

The announcement follows a decision by the European Union earlier Friday to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, along with other sanctions.

The United States already has hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. But Ukraine has argued that a tougher economic response is needed and has asked for additional defense assistance.

--Michael Collins and Joey Garrison

The enigma of Vladimir Putin:What do we really know about Russia's leader?

Ukraine's ambassador to US: Very concerned about Chernobyl

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., voiced concern Friday that Russia took control of the Chernobyl power plant – site of the worst nuclear disaster in history – and took 92 staff members as hostages.

“We are very concerned that the Chernobyl shelter is under threat of any type of random attack by the Russian federation,” Markarova told reporters in Washington.

More broadly, she said Ukraine armed forces destroyed 80 Russian tanks, 10 planes, seven helicopters and 516 armored vehicles. She blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for casualties.

“As a result of Mr. Putin’s decision to send Russians to kill Ukrainians, 2,800 of Russian soldiers will not be going back to Russia,” she said.

Markarova said she wasn’t able to say what it would take for Putin to abandon the attack, but that Ukraine sought territorial integrity not just of its eastern provinces, but also Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

“We are ready for peace talks, but we are not ready for capitulation or surrender,” Markarova said.

--Bart Jansen

Warner warns tech companies about Russian disinformation efforts

Sen. Mark Warner is urging U.S. tech companies on Friday not to let their platforms be misused by Russian influence operations in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

The Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, sent letters Friday to Alphabet, Meta – formerly known as Google and Facebook – as well as Reddit, Telegram, TikTok, and Twitter alerting them to malicious “information warfare” activities by Russia and Russia-linked entities.

“As this conflict continues, we can expect to see an escalation in Russia’s use of both overt and covert means to sow confusion about the conflict and promote disinformation narratives that weaken the global response to these illegal acts,” Warner wrote.

In his letter to YouTube parent company Alphabet, Warner said his staff observed YouTube ads on Thursday monetizing content regarding the conflict in Ukraine from RT, Sputnik and TASS, which he described as malign actors affiliated with the Russian government.

“Unfortunately, your platforms continue to be key vectors for malign actors – including, notably, those affiliated with the Russian government – to not only spread disinformation, but to profit from it,” Warner said.

- Josh Meyer

Hundreds of casualties reported amid bombing damage, destruction

As the fighting intensified in Ukraine Friday, government officials offered competing assessments of the death toll.

Ukrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures.

U.N. officials reported 25 civilian deaths, mostly from shelling and airstrikes, and said that 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes, estimating up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates.

Bridges and schools have been damaged in the shelling, which also sliced through a Kyiv apartment building. After 8 p.m. in Ukraine, a large boom was heard near Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square in central Kyiv that was the heart of the protests which led to the 2014 ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president. The cause was not immediately known and smaller repeated blasts could be heard in the distance.

–Associated Press

Trevor Reed's parents fear Russian attack on Ukraine will thwart son's release from Moscow prison

The parents of a former Marine imprisoned in Moscow worry the global outrage over Russia’s attack on Ukraine could hurt their chances of getting their son released at a moment when he is suffering from serious health problems.

Trevor Reed’s parents, Joey and Paula Reed, told the Dallas Morning News their son called his Moscow lawyers to tell them he was running a fever. He had prolonged exposure in December to another prisoner with tuberculosis and was coughing up blood, according to U.S. embassy spokesman Jason Rebholz. Trevor Reed had been diagnosed with COVID-19 last May.

As a Marine, Reed served as a presidential guard and provided security at Camp David during the Obama administration.

But Reed was arrested in Moscow in August 2019 after allegedly being involved in a drunken fight at a party. He’s serving a nine-year sentence on charges the U.S. ambassador called “absurd.” U.S. officials have said Reed and another former Marine, Paul Whelan, were imprisoned potentially to be used as bargaining chips for the release of Russian spies.

President Joe Biden said Thursday diplomatic talks with Russia have been ruptured by Moscow's massive military attack on Ukraine.

Paula Reed told the Dallas Morning News the remarks were “like the exclamation point” to know “it’s going to be that much more difficult to get Trevor home.”

-Bart Jansen

Ukrainian minister offers pay hike for soldiers

Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced Friday that the country’s armed forces would receive a 30% salary increase, along with monthly bonuses, while Ukraine is battling a Russian invasion that threatens its survival as a free democracy.

“Together with the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and the relevant parliamentary committee, we managed to find the expected financial resources and raise the salaries of Ukrainian defenders to the national average,” Reznikov said in a statement. “This is only the first step. We continue to work. Glory to Ukraine and its defenders!”

The pay hike will go into effect March 1.

--Bart Jansen

Zelenskyy says he and Biden discussed tougher sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Friday about strengthening sanctions against Russia and other steps to retaliate for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter, thanking the U.S. for its strong support” of Ukraine.

The White House confirmed that Biden spoke with Zelenskky for 40 minutes but provided no other details.

The United States and Europe have already hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. Ukraine has argued that a tougher economic response is needed and has asked for additional defense assistance.

In response, the European Union agreed Friday to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions.

–Michael Collins

Zelenskyy posts video pledging continued defense

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a short video just after midnight local time with other leaders of his country proclaiming their continued defense against the Russian invasion.

His defiance came as Russian troops pushed toward the capital Kyiv, and as questions swirled on social media about whether leaders had begun fleeing.

“We are all here,” said Zelenskyy, who was surrounded by a handful of leaders. “Our military is here, citizens are here. We are all here defending our independence, our state and it will be so further. Glory to our defenders, glory to Ukraine!"

He was joined by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and adviser Mykhailo Podoliak among other officials.

"Glory to heroes!" the men said as the video ended.

– Bart Jansen and Karina Zaiets

'We are all here' Ukrainian President Zelenskyy shares message from Kyiv

EU to freeze assets on Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov - Latvian official

The European Union agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions, according to Latvia's foreign minister.

The move is intended to ratchet up financial pressure on Putin to back off Ukraine and would add to other sanctions levied against Moscow from governments including the United States.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in a tweet on Friday that the EU's foreign ministers “adopted the 2nd sanctions package” and added that “the asset freeze includes President of Russia and its Foreign Minister.”

He said the EU plans to prepare another package of sanctions.

– Bart Jansen

US official: Russian forces advance but not as quickly as anticipated

Russian forces continue to invade Ukraine along three routes, including from the north toward Kyiv, although a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Russian momentum toward Kyiv has slowed in the last 24 hours.

The U.S. official declined to say how many Russian troops were on the ground in Ukraine now, but estimated it was about one third of the combat force that Russia had massed before the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin had deployed more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border prior to the invasion.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, told reporters Friday the U.S. had information suggesting that Moscow had expected a faster advance on Ukraine's capital. The official declined to say how the Pentagon had made that assessment, but Russia has not yet captured any major population centers.

Russia has failed to dominate Ukrainian air space, the official said. Ukraine continues to fly warplanes that are attacking Russian forces. Ukraine also retains missiles for air defense.

In southern Ukraine, the Russians have made an amphibious attack, landing thousands of troops, the official said.

Elsewhere in the south, a battle is being fought for the Kakhovka hyrdo-electric plant that provides energy to Crimea and southern Ukraine. Russia has launched cyberattacks there, the official said.

-Tom Vanden Brook

Ukraine pressures Europe to ban Russia from SWIFT

Ukraine’s foreign minister ramped up the pressure on European leaders on Friday to kick Russia out of the SWIFT financial system in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and Europe already have hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. But some European leaders have been reluctant to boot Russia from SWIFT, a global messaging system connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter to urge those holdouts to reconsider, citing their past statements that a conflict like World War II should never be allowed to happen again.

“To some European leaders who are still hesitant: each year at commemorative events you say ‘Never again,’” he wrote. “The time to prove it is now. Russia is waging a horrific war of aggression in Europe. Here is your ‘never again’ test: BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT and kick it out of everywhere.”

Kuleba said he spoke Friday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the need for the U.S. to use its influence to persuade hesitant European leaders to ban Russia from SWIFT.

-Michael Collins

Zelenskyy says Ukraine is fighting Russia ‘alone’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday Ukraine is fighting Russia “alone,” in an apparent criticism of the U.S. and other western allies, as he pushes for a stronger international response to Russia's invasion of his country.

“This morning, we are defending our state alone, as we did yesterday,” he said in an address to Ukrainians. “The world’s most powerful forces are watching from afar. Did yesterday’s sanctions convince Russia?”

Biden has vowed that he won’t send U.S. troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, though he has sent American forces to shore up NATO's eastern flank.

Biden announced a second round of U.S. sanctions announced Thursday, but it did not include the harsh step of cutting Russia from the SWIFT financial system, which connects banks worldwide.

--Joey Garrison

Kremlin open to talks if Ukraine stops fighting

The Kremlin said Friday it is ready to hold talks with Ukrainian officials, but only after Ukrainian forces stand down. The conditional offer came as Russian forces bore down on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Belarus to meet with Ukrainian officials. This came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is willing to discuss a non-aligned status for the country, which would essentially mean dropping the country's bid to join NATO.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine must put down its arms before any talks happen, according to Russia's state controlled TASS News Agency.

Charting Russia's invasion in maps

Russian military forces invaded Ukraine at roughly 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday (4:30 a.m. on Thursday in Ukraine), using missiles, troops, tanks and aircraft.

The invasion has targeted major cities and military sites, with the attacks coming from all different directions, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Russia has fired more than 100 missiles.

See where Russia's forces are moving

Emergency spending for Ukraine likely to reach billions, US senator says

Congress may need to approve at least $10 billion in emergency spending to support Ukraine and for other needs, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Friday.

Coons, a close ally of President Joe Biden who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters his estimate may be on the low side because it doesn’t include what may be a “robust” request from the Pentagon.

“There is strong enthusiasm to provide ongoing resupply and training and whatever other covert and overt support is necessary and appropriate for the Ukrainian resistance,” he said.

Coons, who also heads a subcommittee in charge of humanitarian aid, said he’s confident billions of dollars will be needed to support the likely millions of refugees expected to flee Ukraine for nearby countries.

“It would be a wild guess on my part,” he said, “but I would be supportive of an emergency supplemental of at least $10 billion, perhaps more, to meet these vital national security and humanitarian needs.”

--Maureen Groppe

Ukrainian official: Kyiv residents should make Molotov cocktails

Ukraine's Defense Ministry urged Kyiv's residents Friday to stay inside and prepare Molotov cocktails to defend their capital as Russian troops and tanks were on the verge of entering the central part of the city for the first since President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine.

"Neutralize the enemy," Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted as Kyiv continued to be hit by apparent Russian airstrikes that have damaged apartment buildings and forced thousands into bomb shelters. Air raid sirens rang out through the night and into the early morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is continuing to plead with western leaders to unveil harsher sanctions on the Kremlin, saying “If you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.”

Ukraine claims that more than 1,000 Russian troops have already been killed, though British officials have put the Russian death toll at half that.

-Kim Hjelmgaard

What is SWIFT? How could banning Russia from it impact the country?

President Biden on Thursday announced a raft of new sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

But one move the president didn’t announce: kicking Russia out of the SWIFT financial system.

Biden said removing Russia from the international SWIFT financial system is still on the table but that European allies had resisted that step. The SWIFT system shifts money between banks around the world. Removing Russia would block Moscow from most international financial transactions, including profits from oil and gas production that are the lifeblood of Russia’s economy.

More:What is SWIFT? How could banning Russia from the banking system impact the country?

Russia bans British flights from airspace

Russia’s civil aviation authority has banned U.K. flights to and over Russia in retaliation against the British government’s ban on Aeroflot flights.

Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday.

It said the measure was taken in response to the “unfriendly decisions” by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

- Associated Press

Pope Francis makes unprecedented visit to Russian embassy

Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent.

Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of concern about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted “clearly to express his concern about the war.” Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said.

Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine.

But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church, with which he is trying to build stronger ties.

Rockets strike Kyiv in `horrific’ attack

Russia has launched a “horrific” rocket strike on Kyiv, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, tweeted Friday.

The capital hasn’t experienced an attack like that since 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded, he said.

“Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one,” Kuleba tweeted. “Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe all ties. Kick Russia out" of everywhere.

-- Maureen Groppe

Russian invasion advances on Kyiv; civilians spent night in bomb shelters

Russian troops appeared to be advancing on Kyiv at the start of the second day of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Amid a fast-moving and difficult-to-verify situation, Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted early Friday that some Russian troops had broken through to several northern districts on the outskirts of the capital. However, Ukraine's military also said it was resisting the advance on multiple fronts.

The apparent development comes as thousands of civilians spent the night in bomb shelters, typically underground subway stations, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his citizens to do all they can to resist Russia's assault. Zelenskyy has vowed to remain in Kyiv with his family and he appealed to Russia for a ceasefire.

Some 137 Ukrainians, a mixture of soldiers and civilians, died in the fighting on Thursday, Zelenskyy said. Britain's Defense Secretary told his country's media Friday that Russia has lost about 450 military personnel.

The U.S., Europe and Japan have all unveiled sanctions on key Russian banks, airlines and associates of President Vladimir Putin. Later Friday, NATO leaders will convene an emergency meeting by video link to discuss the deteriorating security situation.

- Kim Hjelmgaard

EU plans more sanctions with 'massive consequences'

BRUSSELS — A senior European Union official says the 27-nation bloc intends to slap further sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

EU Council president Charles Michel tweeted Friday: “Second wave of sanctions with massive and severe consequences politically agreed last night. Further package under urgent preparation.”

Michel announced the move after a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Michel said Kyiv “is under continued attack by Russian forces” and called on Russia to immediately stop the violence.

Russia stripped of Champions League final as UEFA shifts match to Paris

LONDON - Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA on Friday with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The men's final will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France after the decision by UEFA's executive committee.

"UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football’s most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis,” European football's governing body said in a statement. "Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement."

Ukraine president: Russia has marked him ‘target No. 1’

Zelenskyy said Thursday he remains in the Ukraine capital of Kyiv, and intends to stay there, even as Russia has made him its top quarry.

“The enemy has marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2,” Zelenskyy said in an address to Ukrainians. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.”

Asked about Zelenskyy’s safety, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. is in touch with him and are working to provide him support.

- Joey Garrison

Contributing: Associated Press

Biden to announce $800M in new aid for Ukraine; Russian forces ...

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Tuesday, March 15. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 16, as Russia's invasion continues.

Ukrainians must realize the country will not be joining NATO and must "count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us" to withstand the Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

Later in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations yielded a sliver of hope when Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said “there is certainly room for compromise.” However, the invading forces continued their bombardment of Kyiv while a siege of the port city of Mariupol prompted about 20,000 civilians to flee. Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday.

Zelenskyy, speaking to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force, said Ukraine has heard for years about "the allegedly open doors” of NATO but acknowledged his country will not be able to join. Instead, Ukraine needs separate security guarantees from its allies, he said.

Zelenskyy had been a strong supporter of Ukraine's efforts to join NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has called for a guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO among terms for an end to the war.

Still, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for NATO to set up a no-fly zone above Ukraine to ease an aerial assault from Russia that has decimated Ukraine cities since the invasion began Feb. 24. And he said Tuesday that Europe could “help yourself by helping us” with more military aid. The Ukrainian military is using up weapons and ammunition meant to last a week in 20 hours, he said.

Leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were traveling to Kyiv on a European Union mission Tuesday to show support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet announcing the trip that "Europe must guarantee Ukraine's independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraine's reconstruction."

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LATEST MOVEMENT:Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

FULL COVERAGE:Latest updates, analysis, commentary on Ukraine

Latest developments:

►A fourth Russian general was killed in fighting at Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, identifying him as Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev, commander of the 150th motorized rifle division. Russia did not confirm the death.

►Ukrainian forces on Tuesday evening repelled an attack on Kharkiv by Russian troops, who tried to storm the city from their positions in Piatykhatky, a suburb 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the north, the head of the Kharkiv region said.

►A funeral service was held Tuesday in Lviv for four Ukrainian soldiers killed in a Russian attack on a training base in Yavoriv in western Ukraine. The attack on Sunday killed at least 35 people.

►Zelenskyy addressed the Canadian Parliament, again pleading for a no-fly zone over his country. The speech came as Moscow announced it was banning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from entering Russia.

►The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says at least 691 civilians have died and 1,143 have been injured since the war began. At least four children have died, the agency said.

►More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country, the U.N. refugee agency said. "Today we have passed another terrible milestone," tweeted U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "The war has to stop. Now."

►A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Izium, an eastern city of 46,000 people, Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin said. The city lacks basic supplies and extensive Russian shelling has severely damaged infrastructure, he said.

►Belarus, a neighbor of both Russia and Ukraine but an ally of the former in the war, continued its crackdown on independent media by sentencing two journalists from the nation's oldest newspaper to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of dodging communal payments they have rejected as politically driven.

Biden to announce $800 million additional military aid for Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to announce an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, according to a White House official, bringing the total U.S. support for Ukraine to $1 billion in just the last week.

Biden will announce the aid in an 11:45 a.m. ET speech, shortly after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to urge for greater assistance during a virtual address to the U.S. Senate and House earlier in the morning.

“We’re moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country,” Biden said Tuesday. “And I’ll have much more to say about this tomorrow — about exactly what we’re doing in Ukraine.”

The additional $800 million will mean more than $2 billion in U.S. aid has gone to Ukraine since Biden entered office. The money has paid for an assortment of military equipment including 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 200 grenade launchers and ammunition, 200 shotguns and 200 machine guns, according to the White House.

In addition, Biden signed into law a government funding bill Tuesday that will provide $13.6 billion in humanitarian aid, economic support and defense assistance for Ukraine and the region.

— Joey Garrison

Russian forces take 500 hostage in Mariupol hospital, Ukraine official says

Russian forces took control of a hospital in the port city Mariupol, holding about 500 people hostage late Tuesday, according to a regional leader.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said on the social media app Telegram that Russian forces rounded up 400 people from their houses in the neighborhood and drove them into the hospital, where about 100 patients, doctors and other hospital staff were. Kyrylenko said Russians were using the hostages as human shields.

“It’s impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard,” Kyrylenko said.

He said staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in a basement despite damage done to the building from shelling.

The siege of Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol comes the week after Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in the same city. Three people were killed, including a child.

Biden to attend NATO summit in Brussels to discuss Russia’s invasion

President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Biden’s attendance after NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg announced the extraordinary summit of all NATO allies at the NATO headquarters.

“At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together,” Stoltenberg said in a statement on Twitter.

This will be Biden’s first to Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago. Vice President Kamala Harris last week traveled to Romania and Poland, where she reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to defend members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Psaki said Biden will discuss “ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine and reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.” She said Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and humanitarian support to those affected by the violence in Ukraine.

When asked, Psaki would not say whether Biden will visit Poland, where the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees have fled. “We’re still working through the final details of the trip and what it may look like,” said Psaki, who did not rule out Biden possibly meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

– Joey Garrison

As advancement stalls, Russia seeks reinforcements

Russian losses on battlefields in Ukraine have stalled its offensive and forced it to seek reinforcements from troops stationed in the Pacific and paying mercenary forces, according to the British Defense ministry. Russia has been seeking mercenaries from Syria and elsewhere to fight in Ukraine.

"Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations," British defense attaché Mick Smeath said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Ukrainian resistance has hampered advancement by Russia, whose ability to hold territory it seizes would be degraded by continued losses, according to British military intelligence.

Earlier Tuesday, a senior Defense Department official said the Russian offensive against Ukraine’s major cities, including Kyiv, was not progressing.

However, Russian forces continue to bombard Kyiv with artillery and missile fire, striking residential areas with increasing frequency, according to the official, who shared battlefield assessments on condition of anonymity.

Russia’s main force has made minimal progress toward Kyiv. The leading edge of the troops remain about 10 miles to the northwest and about 15 miles to the east of the city’s center. Ukrainians continue to mount stiff resistance, including near the city of Kharkiv.

-- Tom Vanden Brook

Fox News cameraman and consultant killed while covering war

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra "Sasha'' Kuvshynovawere killed while reporting with correspondent Benjamin Hall in Ukraine outside the capital city of Kyiv, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Tuesday.

The group was traveling in a vehicle in Horenka – nearly 20 miles from Kyiv – when they were struck by incoming fire Monday, Scott said in a statement. Hall remained hospitalized.

"Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," Scott said. "His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."

Kuvshynova, 24, was a freelance consultant for the network's team in Ukraine who helped with her knowledge of Kiev and its surroundings as well as her country's language. "Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories and she fulfilled that through her journalism,'' Scott said.

American photojournalist Brent Renaud was killed Sunday when Russian forces fired on a car in Irpin, a town 30 miles outside Kyiv. A second American journalist, Juan Arredondo, was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, police said.

Ned Price, the State Department’s chief spokesman, did not directly respond when asked if Russia is intentionally targeting journalists, but said the department is documenting attacks on people who should be “completely off limits.” He said it would merit a serious response if the department determines “there is any intentionality here.''

– Asha C. Gilbert

Russian TV employee who protested war is fined $270, could face tougher penalty

The Russian state television employee who interrupted a live news program by protesting against the war in Ukraine was fined the equivalent of $270 but could face harsher penalties under Russia's new law aimed at quelling opposition to the invasion.

Marina Ovsyannikova was ordered to pay 30,000 rubles by Moscow's Ostankino District Court on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to demonstrate against the war. CNN reported that Ovsyannikova was questioned for 14 hours before her court appearance.

More concerning than the fine was the possibility Ovsyannikova could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of violating the punitive legislation adopted a day after the Feb. 24 invasion. Russia's top state investigative agency is looking into whether Ovsyannikova broke the new law by publicly spreading false information about the Russian military.

Ovsyannikova, who said in a video that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian, walked into a Channel One studio during Monday's evening news show with a poster saying “no war” and “Russians against the war” and warning viewers against believing propaganda spread by the station In the video, she said “Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression,” and she urged Russians to join anti-war protests.

Speaking in a video address early Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Russians “who do not stop trying to convey the truth, real facts … And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.”

Girl who went viral singing 'Let It Go' in Kyiv bomb shelter is now in Poland

A video of a 7-year-old girl singing the song “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen” in a bomb shelter in Kyiv went viral last week. Now she has made it safely to Poland.

The girl, Amelia, is in the country with her grandmother, the BBC reported. She told the outlet that, “It was OK” in the bomb shelter.

“There were other children there. My classmate, Artyom, was there too,” she said.

“I would be very happy to be with my mother and father, in Kyiv, of course,” she added. She also thanked the millions of people who saw the video of her singing the hit song from the Disney movie.

Last week, Idina Menzel, who voiced Elsa, the character who sings “Let it Go” in “Frozen,” shared the video of Amelia singing on Twitter, writing, “We see you. We really, really see you.”

-- Marina Pitofsky

U.S. supplies another $186 million in humanitarian aid

The Biden administration said Tuesday it would provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the refugee crisis caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded on Feb. 24th, with the majority crossing into Poland.

“This will provide further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighboring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken said the new funds would help provide food, drinking water, shelter and emergency health care through international and non-governmental partners. “This funding will also help victims of this conflict maintain contact with family members who have been separated and promote family reunification when possible,” Blinken said.

-- Deirdre Shesgreen

Kyiv mayor: Men should fight, not 'sit somewhere and sympathize'

Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, smashing apartments and a subway station as the assault edged closer to the city center. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko stressed that Kyiv is prepared to defend itself and was confident it will not fall. He urged the men who left the capital to return and fight.

“Everyone who loves Kyiv and wants it to survive should help as best they can," said Klitschko, a former heavyweight champion boxer. "Kyiv men, come back. We must protect our city and our future. Don’t sit somewhere and sympathize."

Russia sanctions President Biden, top national security officials

The Kremlin has sanctioned President Joe Biden and 13 of his top national security and foreign policy aides, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday. Among the other officials sanctioned are Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; Secretary of State Antony Blinken; CIA Director Bill Burns; White House press secretary Jen Psaki; national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When a country sanctions officials or a company, their assets in the country are seized and they're subject to arrest if they set foot on the country. The U.S. and the European Union have sanctioned a number of top Kremlin military officials, billionaires and members of the Russian legislature over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

It is unlikely the sanctions against the U.S. will have a material effect, given that none of the officials have reported assets in Russia. Western governments have ramped up efforts to seize the wealth of Russian oligarchs and financial institutions in their countries.

– Matthew Brown

Zelenskyy: Russian troops who surrender will be treated 'decently'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops in an online video early Tuesday that they can surrender and will be treated "decently" and pleaded with European nations to provide his military with more weapons.

"On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance," Zelenskyy said in a video translated into English by his office, ahead of his scheduled speech to Canada's parliament Tuesday. "Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently."

NATO leaders focus on bolstering forces near Russian border

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was traveling to Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATO’s defense ministers that will focus on bolstering the alliance’s eastern front following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Austin then is scheduled to visit senior civilian and military leaders in Slovakia and Bulgaria, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.

The NATO meeting comes after Russia’s cruise-missile attack Sunday on the Yavoriv military training base in western Ukraine. The attack killed at least 35 people and occurred not far from the border with Poland, a NATO ally. President Joe Biden and other senior officials have pledged to respond to any Russian attack that spills into NATO territory.

– Tom Vanden Brook

Damage in Ukraine estimated at $500 billion and rising

Preliminary losses from Russia's attack in Ukraine are already estimated at $500 billion – and the damage grows worse every day, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said Tuesday. Supply chains have been broken, some businesses destroyed and others left unable to function because their workers have fled, Marchenko said. The true cost of the war won't be determined until it's over, he said. The International Monetary Fund, which has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, said this week that the country's economic output could shrink by up to 35% if the war drags on.

Marchenko said some of the hundreds of billions in Russian assets frozen in the U.S. and Europe could be tapped to help his country rebuild.

China defends position on Ukraine

China's stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “impartial and constructive” while the U.S. has been “immoral and irresponsible” by spreading misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.

Lijian accused the U.S. of spreading misinformation over reports Beijing had agreed to a Russian request for military supplies. Lijian also said the U.S. played a major role in the development of the crisis, a reference to NATO expansion.

Lijian spoke at a press briefing on day after Yang Jiechi, one of China's top diplomats, met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Yang called on the international community to support peace talks and said "China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries."

State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm whether U.S. officials believe Beijing has conveyed its support for Moscow's assault on Ukraine but said the U.S. is watching very closely whether China or any other country is providing any form of support, including material, economic or financial assistance.

Poland on edge as Russian airstrikes hit near border

KRAKOW, Poland — After a deadly Russian missile attack in Ukraine just 15 miles from the Polish border Sunday, some Poles are increasingly anxious – saving money, checking to see whether their passports are up to date and making plans to flee if war spills over to their country.

“I said to my husband, ‘If only one bomb touches Polish ground, I will pack myself, pack my grandma, pack my mom, and we are going abroad,'” local artist Aga Gaj said.

Poles are nervous following a Russian airstrike that killed 35 and injured at least 100 at a military base where Americans had trained Ukrainian forces before the war. The United States and NATO have regularly sent instructors to the base, known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. Just weeks before the war began, Florida National Guard members trained there. Read more here.

– Katelyn Ferral, USA TODAY Network

Contributing: The Associated Press

Zelenskyy calls Mariupol terror a war crime; Russia uses first ...

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Saturday, March 19. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Sunday, March 20, as Russia's invasion continues.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has entered its fourth week without capturing Kyiv or toppling Ukraine's government, but the bombardment of Ukrainian cities continues — a move western defense experts warn could be a sign of a cruel and intentional strategy.

The situation grew increasingly dire in the port city of Mariupol, where Russian forces pushed deeper Saturday in an area already experiencing what onlookers describe as a humanitarian crisis.

"Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,” Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said in a video filmed Friday that was authenticated by The Associated Press..

Fighting shut down the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said Saturday, while other officials said forces that could help Ukraine defend Mariupol were facing massive resistance.

"There is currently no military solution to Mariupol,” Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said late Friday. “That is not only my opinion, that is the opinion of the military.”

Britain’s defense intelligence chief described it as an emerging ”strategy of attrition.”

Russian forces are besieging Ukrainian cities, relying increasingly on bombarding them from a distance with artillery, missiles and air strikes, according to the Pentagon.

“This is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and intensify the humanitarian crisis,” British Defense attache Mick Smeath said in a statement Saturday.

Meanwhile in Russia, President Vladimir Putin is reinforcing his control of domestic media, attempting to obscure high casualties amid fierce resistance encountered in his invasion of Ukraine, according to a British Defense Ministry intelligence estimate.

The assessment was echoed by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based foreign policy think tank, in a report this week. The group warned that since Russia's "lightning offensive designed to take the capital" had failed, the military appeared to be settling in for an extended campaign "designed to suffocate Ukraine."

REFUGEE EXODUS:Millions of refugees are fleeing Ukraine. Where are they going?

The strategy would likely involve attacking civilian areas, destroying cities and blocking off supplies, possibly leading to famine, according to the analysis. The organization later drew parallels to an artificial famine engineered by the Kremlin in the 1930s that killed millions of Ukrainians — a Soviet attempt to "subjugate the Ukrainian nation."

ANTI-TANK WARFARE: As Russian troops close in on major cities in Ukraine, anti-tank weapons can make a major difference

A JOURNALIST AND A REFUGEE: How one reporter helps cover the war in Ukraine while living through the fallout.

Latest developments:

►At least 847 civilians, including 64 children, have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner reported Saturday, but the agency said the actual figures are much higher. Agents also estimated the violence had left nearly 1,400 civilians injured, including 78 children.

►The Mariupol city council claimed Russian soldiers have forced several thousand city residents to be relocated to Russia. "The occupiers illegally took people out of the Levoberezhny district and a shelter in the building of a sports club, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from constant bombing," the council said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

►Saturday, Ukraine and Russia agreed to open 10 humanitarian corridors to assist in the evacuation efforts, according to Ukraine's deputy prime minster.

►The U.N. migration agency says the fighting has displaced nearly 6.5 million people inside Ukraine, on top of the 3.2 million refugees who have already fled the country. Ukraine says thousands have been killed.

►The Ukraine military claims to have killed another Russian general – the fifth since the invasion began.

UK defense says Ukraine holding its airspace

The British defense ministry said the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces are “continuing to effectively defend Ukrainian airspace.”

“Russia has failed to gain control of the air and is largely relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine,” the ministry said on Twitter. “Gaining control of the air was one of Russia’s principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress.”

A Ukrainian military official meanwhile confirmed to a Ukrainian newspaper that Russian forces carried out a missile strike Friday on a missile and ammunition warehouse in the Delyatyn settlement of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine.

But Ukraine’s Air Forces spokesman Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainskaya Pravda on Saturday that it has not been confirmed that the missile was indeed a hypersonic Kinzhal.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said earlier Saturday that Russian military hit the underground warehouse in Delyatyn on Friday with the hypersonic Kinzhal missile in its first reported combat use. According to Russian officials, the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 1,250 miles flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

RUSSIAN PROGRESS IN UKRAINE:Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Zelenskyy says Mariupol terror a war crime

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the siege of Mariupol will go down in history for what he's calling war crimes by Russia's military.

“To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,” he said early Sunday in his nighttime video address to the nation.

Zelenskyy told Ukrainians the ongoing negotiations with Russia were “not simple or pleasant, but they are necessary.” He said he discussed the course of the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday.

“Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution. Moreover, we are interested in peace now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia's military isn't even recovering the bodies of its soldiers in some places, Zelenskyy said.

“In places where there were especially fierce battles, the bodies of Russian soldiers simply pile up along our line of defense. And no one is collecting these bodies,” he said. He described as battle near Chornobayivka in the south, where Ukrainian forces held their positions and six times beat back the Russians, who just kept “sending their people to slaughter.”

- The Associated Press

'PLEASE HELP US':Weary voices call from Mariupol, where bodies line streets

Experts: Math of military occupation may be against Putin in Ukraine

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely. Yet even conservative figures are in the low thousands. That’s a much faster pace than in previous Russian offensives, threatening support for the war among ordinary Russians. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 over years of fighting in Chechnya.

Russia’s number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10% benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher on Russia’s security at the Virginia-based CNA think tank. The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals — out of an estimated 20 in the fight — signal impaired command, he said.

Researchers tracking only those Russian equipment losses that were photographed or recorded on video say Russia has lost more than 1,500 tanks, trucks, mounted equipment and other heavy gear. Two out of three of those were captured or abandoned, signaling the failings of the Russian troops that let them go.

When it comes to the grinding job of capturing and holding cities, conventional military metrics suggest Russia needs a 5-to-1 advantage in urban fighting, analysts say. Meanwhile, the formula for ruling a restive territory in the face of armed opposition is 20 fighters for every 1,000 people — or 800,000 Russian troops for Ukraine’s more than 40 million people, said Michael Clarke, former head of the British-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank

That’s almost as many as Russia’s entire active-duty military of 900,000, and it means controlling substantial Ukrainian territory long term could take more resources than Russia can commit, he said.

“Unless the Russians intend to be completely genocidal — they could flatten all the major cities, and Ukrainians will rise up against Russian occupation — there will be just constant guerrilla war,” said Clarke.

- The Associated Press

WHAT IS THE HOLODOMOR?:A brief history of the deadly famine in Ukraine many call genocide

Ukrainians evacuated along 8 of 10 agreed upon humanitarian corridors

Evacuations from besieged cities proceeded Saturday along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. She said a total of 6,623 people were evacuated, including 4,128 from Mariupol who were taken northwest to Zaporizhzhia.

Russian forces pushed deeper into the besieged and battered port city of Mariupol, where heavy fighting on Saturday shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war’s worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

-The Associated Press

Pope Francis visits Ukrainian children at Vatican hospital

Pope Francis has paid a visit to some of the Ukrainian children who escaped the Russian invasion and are currently being treated at the Vatican’s pediatric hospital in Rome.

The Vatican says the Bambino Gesu hospital is currently tending to 19 Ukrainian refugees, and that overall some 50 have passed through in recent weeks.

Some were suffering oncological, neurological and other problems before the war and fled in the early days. Others are being treated for wounds incurred as a result of the invasion.

The Vatican says Francis travelled the short distance up the hill to the hospital on Saturday afternoon. He met with all the young patients in their rooms before returning back to the Vatican.

Francis has spoken out about the “barbarity” of the war and especially the death and injury it has caused Ukrainian children.

-The Associated Press

Russia says it used hypersonic missiles for the first time

Russia said it used a hypersonic missile Friday to strike a western Ukraine target, the Interfax news agency reported.

Hypersonic missiles are missiles that can move at five times the speed of sound. The Russian military said these missiles are capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 1,200 miles, or roughly the distance from New York City to Kansas City.

"The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aero ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region," the Russian defense ministry said Saturday.

This is the first known use of hypersonic missiles since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

- Ana Faguy

On Poland visit, senators reaffirm US support for Ukraine, call Putin 'weak'

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators visited a refugee center in Poland on Saturday and met with officials from several countries to reinforce U.S. support for providing humanitarian assistance and lethal aid to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.

“This invasion of Russia into Ukraine is abhorrent and we cannot stand for it,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. “The goal is a free and sovereign Ukraine. We want peace, but we want a free and sovereign Ukraine.”

The lawmakers displayed part of a missile that struck close to the Polish border. Ernst said lawmakers didn’t visit the border, but did stop in at a refugee center where people rested before resettling elsewhere in Poland or other countries.

AID FOR UKRAINE:Biden calls Putin a 'war criminal' after signing off on $800 million in new military aid: March 16 recap

“We do need to find new ways of getting much needed material into Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Ernst said after the delegation met with leaders from Poland, Ukraine and Germany.

Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard who served in the Iraq war and sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin should be held accountable for the war and for targeting women, children and the elderly.

“It’s a truly weak man that targets children, elderly, women. Putin is a weak leader,” Ernst said. “He may be trying to project strength, but he is a weak man when he is going after weak individuals. We need to hold him accountable for the crimes that he is committing in Ukraine. This is abhorrent. It is an illegal war and he needs to held accountable.”

- Bart Jansen

UNICEF: 1.5M Ukrainian refugee children at risk of human trafficking

The more than 1.5 million children who have fled Ukraine as refugees face a higher risk for exploitation and trafficking, UNICEF said Saturday.

Women and children represent nearly all of the refugees who have left Ukraine since Feb. 24. UNICEF said that increases the proportion of potential trafficking victims.

"The war in Ukraine is leading to massive displacement and refugee flows - conditions that could lead to a significant spike in human trafficking and an acute child protection crisis," said Afshan Khan, UNICEF's Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. "Displaced children are extremely vulnerable to being separated from their families, exploited, and trafficked. They need governments in the region to step up and put measures in place to keep them safe."

With more than 500 unaccompanied children identified crossing from Ukraine into Romania as of March 17, UNICEF warned that separated children are especially vulnerable to trafficking.

- Ana Faguy

Russian cosmonauts board space station in blue and yellow spacesuits

Three Russian cosmonauts on Friday boarded the International Space Station donning spacesuits in the Ukrainian flag's colors. Images of the cosmonauts wearing the striking yellow and blue suits sparked speculation online that the colors were worn in protest of Russia’s invasion.

The cosmonauts are Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov. They docked at the station in their Russian Soyuz spacecraft at 3:12 p.m. EDT and are scheduled to stay aboard the station until September, according to Space.com.

When asked about the colors in a live-streamed press conference after the docking, Artemyev indicated they were a coincidence, according to the BBC.

"It became our turn to pick a color," Artemyev said. "We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. That's why we had to wear yellow."

But some on social media weren’t convinced.

Former NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts suggested on Twitter that the colors were in support of Ukraine, and astronomer Jonathan McDowell speculated on Twitter that the colors were meant as an homage to the cosmonauts’ alma mater, Bauman University, which also has blue and yellow colors.

There are seven people already on the orbiting lab, according to Space.com: cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency, and NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Mark Vande Hei.

- Ella Lee

Zelenskyy calls on Swiss government to freeze assets of Russian oligarchs

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy urged the Swiss government to freeze the bank accounts of all Russian oligarchs, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.

Zelenskyy spoke to thousands of antiwar protestors in Bern, Switzerland via livestream on Saturday where he called on the Swiss government to take away privileges from those who are involved in the war.

More:Who are Russia's oligarchs and how do they play into the war in Ukraine?

"In your banks are the funds of the people who unleashed this war," Zelenskyy said. "Help to fight this. So that their funds are frozen."

The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) estimates that Switzerland's secretive banks hold up to $213 billion of Russian wealth.

- Ana Faguy

Former presidents Bush, Clinton lay flowers at Ukrainian church in Chicago

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush visited a Ukrainian church in Chicago this week.

The pair brought sunflowers to Saints Volodymyr & Olha Catholic Church. Chicago, a sister city of Kyiv, is home to many Ukrainian Americans.

Clinton shared a video of the visit on Twitter with the caption, "America stands united with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom and against oppression."

Bush posted the video on Instagram with the caption, "America stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their freedom and their future."

- Ana Faguy

6.5 million displaced within Ukraine, UN reports

Nearly 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine, the U.N. migration agency said Friday.

That's on top of the 3.3 million people who have crossed the Ukrainian borders since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which released the updated data in a paper issued Friday.

The paper noted that an additional 12 million people are thought to be stranded, unable to leave for security purposes or for lack of resources and information.

- Ana Faguy

Poland urges EU trade ban on Russia

Poland is recommending the European Union impose a total ban on trade with Russia.

Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateus Morawiecki proposed more stringent sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. He said that a trade blockade should be added "as soon as possible," and should include trade from Russia's seaports as well as land trade.

"Fully cutting off Russia's trade would further force Russia to consider whether it would be better to stop this cruel war," he said.

Tuesday the E.U. agreed to a fourth sanctions package that included restrictions on the Kremlin's military-industrial complex, an E.U. import ban on those steel products currently under EU safeguard measures and an E.U. export ban on luxury goods.

This comes as more American companies announce the suspension of business in Russia, putting a greater strain on the Russian economy. Friday Halliburton became the latest company to join that list.

- Ana Faguy

Ukraine: It will take 'years' to defuse unexploded shells, mines from war

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky says it will take years to defuse the unexploded ordnance once the Russian invasion is over.

Monastyrsky told The Associated Press in an interview on Friday that the country will need Western assistance to carry out the massive undertaking after the war.

“A huge number of shells and mines have been fired at Ukraine, and a large part haven’t exploded. They remain under the rubble and pose a real threat,” Monastyrsky said in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. “It will take years, not months, to defuse them.”

In addition to the unexploded Russian ordnance, Ukrainian troops have planted land mines at bridges, airports and other key locations to prevent the Russians from using them.

“We won’t be able to remove the mines from all that territory, so I asked our international partners and colleagues from the European Union and the United States to prepare groups of experts to demine the areas of combat and facilities that came under shelling,” Monastyrsky told the AP.

– The Associated Press

Experts: Graham's call for Putin's assassination is 'dangerous' for US

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s continued calls that Putin be “taken out” are alarming researchers and academics who warn the South Carolina Republican’s comments are reckless because they could be interpreted as the U.S. disregarding international law and be used to fuel disinformation in Russia.

"There are so many dangerous aspects to his comments," said Anthony Arend, co-founder of the Institute for International Law & Politics at Georgetown University. "It sets the possible precedent that others will be able to look at the United States and say, 'Well, they're advocating it. Why don't we simply move to a foreign policy that more broadly incorporates assassinations or targeting regime leaders?'"

More:Lindsey Graham called for Putin's assassination. Even discussing it brings danger to US, experts say.

Nika Aleksejeva, a Latvia-based researcher with the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, warned Graham's comments fuel a Kremlin narrative that portrays the U.S. as a violent and lawless sponsor of terrorism out to get Russia.

"The U.S. is painted as the great evil in Russia," she said. "One of the disinformation narrative lines is that Ukraine is our brother nation, and Russia is forced to carry out this military operation because the U.S. made Ukraine go away from Russia – that the U.S. is to blame in all these problems that are now between Russia and Ukraine."

Graham, who tweeted in early March that "the only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out," doubled down on his comments Wednesday.

"Yeah, I hope he'll be taken out, one way or the other," he told reporters during a Capitol Hill news conference. “I don't care how they take him out. I don't care if we send him to the Hague and try him. I just want him to go.”

– Grace Hauck

Putin appears at large rally as troops press attack in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin appeared at a huge flag-waving rally at a Moscow stadium Friday and lavished praise on his troops fighting in Ukraine, three weeks into the invasion that has led to heavier-than-expected Russian losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home.

“Shoulder to shoulder, they help and support each other,” the Russian president said of the Kremlin’s forces in a rare public appearance since the start of the war. “We have not had unity like this for a long time,” he added to cheers from the crowd.

The show of support amid a burst of antiwar protests inside Russia led to allegations in some quarters that the rally — held officially to mark the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine — was a manufactured display of patriotism.

Several Telegram channels critical of the Kremlin reported that students and employees of state institutions in a number of regions were ordered by their superiors to attend rallies and concerts marking the anniversary. Those reports could not be independently verified.

Moscow police said more than 200,000 people were in and around the Luzhniki stadium. The event included patriotic songs, including a performance of “Made in the U.S.S.R.,” with the opening lines “Ukraine and Crimea, Belarus and Moldova, it’s all my country.”

In response to the rally, American conservative commentator Sean Hannity suggested on his radio show that Putin was “channeling his inner Donald Trump,” Business Insider reported. During his Fox News show later in the day, Hannity again accused Putin of making his “best attempt to look like Donald Trump” at the rally.

Contributing: The Associated Press, Ella Lee

Zelenskyy says Russia is creating 'humanitarian catastrophe'

LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces are blockading Ukraine’s largest cities to create a “humanitarian catastrophe” with the aim of persuading Ukrainians to cooperate with them.

He says Russians are preventing supplies from reaching surrounded cities in the center and southeast of the country.

“This is a totally deliberate tactic,” Zelenskyy said in his nighttime video address to the nation, filmed outside in Kyiv, with the presidential office in the lamplight behind him.

He said more than 9,000 people were able to leave besieged Mariupol in the past day, and in all more than 180,000 people have been able to flee to safety through humanitarian corridors.

He again appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold talks with him directly.

He noted that the 200,000 people Putin gathered in and around a Moscow stadium on Friday for a flag-waving rally was about the same number of Russian troops sent into Ukraine three weeks ago.

Zelenskyy then asked his audience to picture the stadium filled with the thousands of Russians who have been killed, wounded or maimed in the fighting.

— Associated Press

Jimmy Hill, American killed in Ukraine, stayed with sick partner

Even as Russian forces massed on the border with Ukraine and the U.S. government urged Americans to leave the country, Jimmy Hill didn't flee. Instead, he drove even closer to Russian territory in search of treatment for his life partner, who was sick.

James Whitney Hill, 67, was killed by Russian artillery fire in Ukraine this week, at least the second American to die there since the invasion began Feb. 24. Before his death, he touched lives around the world through teaching and storytelling, friends and family told USA TODAY.

"He had worked tirelessly to find her treatment and refused to leave her bedside when the invasion began in Ukraine," his family said in a statement Friday about his life partner, Irina Teslenko, who has multiple sclerosis. READ MORE.

– Grace Hauck

Ukraine recap: Ukrainian intelligence says Russian general killed

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Monday, March 7. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Tuesday, March 8, as Russia's invasion continues.

A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended Monday without any significant breakthroughs, although Ukrainian officials said there were slight shifts on safe passages for civilians attempting to flee to war-torn country.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said without elaboration that “there were some small positive shifts regarding logistics of humanitarian corridors.” He said that consultations will continue on ways to negotiate an end to hostilities.

Previous efforts to set up safe passage for civilians over the weekend fell apart amid continued shelling. But the Russian Defense Ministry announced a new push Monday, saying civilians would be allowed to leave the capital of Kyiv, Mariupol and the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy.

Hours after the talks, Russia announced a limited ceasefire that would happen on Tuesday morning and the opening of safe corridors for civilians to evacuate the war-torn country, a significant move that's likely to be met with skepticism after similar efforts failed.

Ukraine has yet to agree to the proposal.

The proposal made Monday by Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia during the U.N. Security Council meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine included that fleeing Ukrainians would not have to flee to Russia or or its ally Belarus, a key issue Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called "just cynicism" and a propaganda effort in the country's favor.

“This proposal doesn’t have any demands about the citizens being sent necessarily to Russia, into Russian territory,” Nebenzia said. “There’s also evacuation offered towards Ukrainian cities to the west of Kyiv, and ultimately it will be the choice of the people themselves where they want to be evacuated to."

The announcement came hours after a third round of talks between the two countries. Ukrainian officials had said the talks didn't provide much momentum on a ceasefire or an end to the war but there were slight shifts on humanitarian corridors.

Latest developments:

►The U.S. is among 48 nations whose governments have committed "unfriendly actions" against Russia, the Kremlin says. Russian citizens, companies and government bodies that owe money to those countries can pay debts in rubles, the decree says.

►Russian banks are looking into issuing cards that operate on a Chinese payment system after American Express, Visa and Mastercard cut off services in Russia citing the invasion.

►Italian Premier Mario Draghi expressed little hope that peace talks will result in an end to the war. Russia will continue to pound Ukraine until “the country has surrendered, probably installs a friendly government and defeats the resistance. That’s what the facts demonstrate.”

►President Joe Biden discussed the latest developments with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during an 80-minute teleconference, with leaders saying they were determined to continue "raising the costs on Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified" attack on Ukraine.

►The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine surpassed 1.7 million on Monday, and an EU official warned the number could reach 5 million.

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What is going on with gas prices?:Are oil companies price gouging? What does this have to do with Russia? When will gas go down?

Russian general killed in battle, Ukrainian intelligence claims

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said a Russian general has been killed in battle, a rarity in modern times.

Ukraine identified him as 45-year-old Maj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov, and said he had fought with Russian forces in Syria and Chechnya and had taken part in the seizure of Crimea in 2014. According to the intelligence agency, he was killed around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

It was not possible to confirm the death independently. Russia has not commented.

It’s a rare occurrence for such a senior military official to die in action fighting, but Gerasimov marks the second known Russian general killed during the war in Ukraine. Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed last week.

— Celina Tebor

Congress comes to deal on bill banning Russian oil

Top officials in the Congress reached an agreement Monday on legislation that would ban Russian oil imports to the U.S. and end Russia’s permanent normal trade relation status in response to the intensifying war in Ukraine, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Voting could come swiftly but no schedule has been set.

The White House has been reluctant to ban Russian oil imports as gas prices at the pump spike for Americans, but has not ruled out the option.

Ending the normal trade relation status could result in steep tariffs on other Russian imports.

President Joe Biden has been reluctant to ban Russian oil, fearing it could further fuel inflation heading into the midterm elections this November.

The national average price for unleaded gasoline hit $4.10 a gallon Monday, compared with $3.61 a week ago and $3.44 a month ago, according to AAA.

U.N.'s nuclear watchdog: Another facility damaged by shelling

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said Ukraine has informed it that a new research facility producing radioisotopes for medical and industrial uses has been damaged by shelling in Kharkiv.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the Ukrainian regulator told it that Sunday’s incident didn’t cause any increase in radiation levels at the site. It said the nuclear material at the facility is “always subcritical” and there is a very low stock of it, so the IAEA’s assessment is that the reported damage would have no “radiological consequence.”

However, it adds to a string of concerns the Vienna-based IAEA has over nuclear facilities and material in Ukraine. Last week, Russian shelling started a fire at Europe's largest nuclear plant in Ukraine, causing worldwide fears of another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Since Russian forces took the plant, the IAEA said the Ukrainian regulator has informed it that it’s not currently possible to deliver spare parts or medicine to the plant.

Pentagon says Russia recruiting Syrian mercenaries

Russia is recruiting Syrian mercenaries to fight its war in Ukraine, a senior Defense Department official said Monday. The Pentagon did not have an estimate on the number of fighters the Russian military is seeking from Syria, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence findings. There are no indications that Syrians had arrived in Ukraine. Russia intervened in Syria’s civil war in 2015, supporting the government of Bashar al Assad.

The recruiting effort is noteworthy given what the official described as Russia’s struggles to overcome significant resistance from Ukrainians. Meanwhile, nearly 100% of the Russian combat forces President Vladimir Putin deployed to Ukraine’s borders are now inside the country. The official said the main force of Russian troops appears stalled outside Kyiv. Ukrainian airspace remains contested, the official said, with Ukraine able to fly the majority of its warplanes.

Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an additional 500 U.S. troops based in the United States to Greece, Poland and Romania. The group includes air-refuelers, maintenance and other support troops, the official said.

– Tom Vanden Brook

United Airlines suspending some India flights to avoid Russian airspace

United Airlines on Monday said it will indefinitely suspend two of its four routes between the United States and India because of the war in Ukraine. The Chicago-based airline will no longer fly between San Francisco and New Delhi and between Newark, New Jersey, and Mumbai because of its decision not to overfly Russian airspace during the conflict.

The airline plans to continue operating flights between Newark and New Delhi and Chicago and New Delhi because it can more efficiently reroute those flights, according to United spokesperson Leslie Scott.

American Airlines is still operating its New York-Delhi flights, spokesperson Curtis Blessing said. In late February, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the airline preemptively started rerouting the flight to avoid Ukraine airspace.

– Dawn Gilbertson

Kindness amid chaos: Baby strollers left for refugees at train stations

Many of the almost 2 million Ukrainians who have fled the war have escaped on packed trains with only the possessions they can carry on their backs. Most are women and children. At Poland's Przemyśl Główny train station, Italian photojournalist Francesco Malavolta captured a photo of special gifts left by local families for mothers of young children exiting the train – a line of donated strollers. Some of the strollers are packed with blankets and other necessities. Malvolta took a similar picture in Vyšné, Slovakia. He has also photographed many families, some with babies, scrambling to escape the fighting.

"The war is horrendous," he says on his Facebook page.

Biden conferring with France, Germany and England on Ukraine

Biden, conferred via video teleconference Monday with the leaders of France, Germany and England, has worked for weeks in close consultation with European allies over how to respond to Russia’s aggression. Macron, pressing ahead with diplomatic efforts to end the war, spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, their fourth conversation since Russian forces attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Macron's office said the Putin call focused primarily on the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear plants. Macron told Putin these facilities must not be targeted by a Russian offensive, and Putin said he does not intend to attack the plants, Macron's office said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will go to Paris on Tuesday to hear from Macron, who holds the European Union's rotating presidency.

– Maureen Groppe

War brings chaos to adoption plans

International Adoption Net told USA TODAY that numerous U.S. families hoping to adopt from Ukraine have seen the process placed on hold because Ukrainian courts are closed. Daniel Nehrbass from Nightlight Christian Adoption said his agency had 11 families waiting to adopt 20 children from Ukraine, but that process has now halted. The State Department says it has asked the Ukrainian government to expedite new birth certificates and passports for all adopted children that require them.

"It's time to think about allowing these children to have refugee status in other countries," Nehrbass said.

– Callie Carmichael

Ukrainian couple marries amid invasion

A Ukrainian couple exchanged vows Sunday near a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, Ukrainian territorial defense members, said they have been together for more than 20 years. Their 18-year-old daughter watched the ceremony on a video call. The bride carried flowers and wore a white veil during the ceremony.

"We decided – who knows what will happen tomorrow – we should get married in front of the state, in front of God," said Ivashchenko, the bride.

Fylymonov, the groom, said, in a video translated by The Guardian that they live in "challenging times... that’s why it is better do it sooner than later.” Read more here.

– Marina Pitofsky

EU official warns refugee total could reach 5 million

The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine surpassed 1.7 million on Monday, and an EU official warned the number would likely reach 5 million. More than 1 million have crossed the border into Poland, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

EU foreign affairs policy chief Josep Borrell called on mobilizing “all the resources” of the bloc of 27 nations to help countries welcoming the refugee. "If they continue to bomb Ukrainian cities in an indiscriminate manner, we can expect 5 million migrants," EU foreign affairs policy chief Josep Borrell said. "Not migrants, we can't call them migrants. These are exiled people."

36 hours with a team building a field hospital in Ukraine

USA TODAY spent 36 hours with a team of overseas nurses, engineers and logistics personnel invited by Ukraine's authorities to build a field hospital for emergency and specialized trauma care in Lviv. It is being established to serve an expected wave of people – military and civilian – impacted by Russia's assault on Ukraine as Moscow counters resistance to its invasion with more firepower. The location of the planned hospital is on the fringes of Lviv in western Ukraine – identified as a potential capital if Kyiv falls to the Kremlin.

"I've set up hospitals in war zones, and we've deliberately marked ones that have been bombed and we've left them unmarked and gotten bombed," said Ken Isaacs, the American who is leading the effort to construct the hospital. "When an airplane wants to bomb you, they bomb you." Read more here.

– Kim Hjelmgaard and Jessica Koscielniak

Russia snubs UN court hearings in case brought by Ukraine

Russia has snubbed a hearing at the United Nations’ top court into a legal bid by Kyiv to halt Moscow’s devastating invasion of Ukraine. A row of seats reserved for Russian lawyers at the International Court of Justice was empty Monday morning as the hearing opened. The court’s president, American judge Joan E. Donoghue, said Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands informed judges that “his government did not intend to participate in the oral proceedings.” The hearing went ahead without the Russian delegation.

The International Court of Justice is opening two days of hearings at its headquarters, the Peace Palace, into Ukraine's request for its judges to order Russia to halt its invasion. Ukraine is scheduled to present its arguments Monday morning and Russia has the opportunity to respond on Tuesday.

A decision is expected on the request within days, though that does not mean Russia would abide by any order the court might issue.

Blinken travels to Baltic states

Blinken has begun a trip to the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. The former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are all members of NATO and Blinken aims to reassure them of the alliance’s protection. Since the invasion of Ukraine last month, NATO has moved quickly to boost its troop presence in its eastern flank allies.

Blinken’s Baltic tour opened Monday in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, where support for Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion government is palpable with signs of solidarity with Ukrainians in many businesses and on public buildings and buses.

New Zealand will rush through a new law to sanction Russia

New Zealand's government said Monday that it plans to rush through a new law that will allow it to impose economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Unlike many countries that have already introduced sanctions, New Zealand's existing laws don't allow it to apply meaningful measures unless they're part of a broader United Nations effort. Because Russia has U.N. Security Council veto power, that has left New Zealand hamstrung.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the new legislation would allow it to target people, companies and assets connected to those in Russia associated with the invasion, including oligarchs. It would allow New Zealand to freeze assets and stop superyachts or planes from arriving.

The bill will be specific only to the Ukraine invasion but could allow New Zealand to impose sanctions on countries seen to be helping Russia, such as Belarus.

Australian missiles on the ground in Ukraine

Australia’s prime minister says Russia and China’s closer relationship is opportunistic rather than strategic. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday labeled the alliance an “Arc of Autocracy” and said Russia and China would prefer a new world order to the one that has been in place since World War II.

Morrison has criticized Beijing’s failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s expansion of trade in Russian wheat while other countries are imposing sanctions. Australia last week promised Ukraine $50 million in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders.

“Our missiles are on the ground now,” Morrison said Monday.

OIL FROM RUSSIA:How much oil does the US buy from Russia? Not much, but gas prices are rising amid Ukraine invasion

GAS PRICES ARE RISING:What can Biden do to lower costs at the pump amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

Contributing: The Associated Press

More Ukraine-Russia news

Ukrainian soldiers killed after Russian artillery hits base: Recap

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Monday, Feb. 28. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Tuesday, March 1, as Russia's invasion continues.

***

More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, the head of the region wrote on Telegram.

Dmytro Zhyvytskyy posted photographs of the charred shell of a four-story building and rescuers searching rubble. In a later Facebook post, he said many Russian soldiers and some local residents also were killed during the fighting on Sunday. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

Earlier Monday, Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city, rocking a residential neighborhood as they closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 40-mile convoy that included hundreds of tanks and other military vehicles.

The fighting continued as talks aimed at stopping the war yielded only an agreement to keep talking. The country’s embattled president said the stepped-up shelling was aimed at forcing him into concessions.

“I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday in a video address. He did not offer details of the hours-long talks that took place earlier, but said that Kyiv was not prepared to make concessions “when one side is hitting each other with rocket artillery.”

As Russian forces marched forward and met stiff resistance from Ukrainian soldiers, countries tightened the vise around Moscow's economy Monday, announcing new sanctions on its central bank and individuals. Even Switzerland is breaking its neutral stance to join the EU in its actions.

TRACK THE INVASION:Satellite images, surveillance footage, social media posts show the latest on the war in Ukraine

FACT CHECK: What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

RUSSIA'S RICHEST TARGETED: Biden hits yacht-riding elites with sanctions. Will it help?

Mastercard blocks financial institutions over sanctions on Russia

Mastercard announced Monday it was blocking "multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network" as a result of sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S.-based financial services company said in a statement it will continue to work with regulators to stay in compliance and is actively monitoring and preparing to respond to cyberattacks.

The U.S. and EU have sanctioned top Kremin officials and Russian elites as well as taken steps to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT network, which allows for payments between financial institutions.

The financial corporation also said it would donate $2 million in humanitarian relief.

— Celina Tebor

United States expels Russian diplomats from U.N. headquarters

The United States is expelling 12 Russian diplomats stationed at the United Nation's headquarters in New York. for engaging in “espionage activities” that undermine U.S. national security.

Olivia Dalton, a spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN, said the U.S. action has been in the works for “several months.”

She did not elaborate on the accusations that the Russians were spying on the U.S. but referred to the 12 individuals as “intelligence operatives from the Russian Mission who have abused their privileges of residency in the United States.”

— Deirdre Shesgreen

Australia commits $50 million in support for Ukraine

Australia will provide Ukraine with $50 million in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday elaborated on his country’s plans after revealing a day earlier that his government would provide Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with lethal military equipment. Morrison promised only non-lethal military equipment last week.

“President Zelenskyy said: ‘Don’t give me a ride, give me ammunition,’ and that’s exactly what the Australian government has agreed to do,” Morrison said.

Australia had committed $50 million to provide both lethal and non-lethal defensive support for Ukraine through NATO, he said. “The overwhelming majority of that ... will be in the lethal category,” Morrison said.

— Associated Press

Disney, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. halt release of films in Russia

The Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. are joining the list of businesses retaliating against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Disney is pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming “Turning Red” from Pixar, in response to the attack, the company said in a statement Monday.

“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” the statement said.

The company said it is working with non-governmental organizations to provide aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.

WarnerMedia is putting the release of The Batman on hold in Russia. The film starring Robert Pattinson had been set to open in Russia on Thursday.

“We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves,” Warner Bros. said in a statement. “We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”

Sony Pictures is also pausing planned theatrical releases in Russia, including the upcoming release of Morbius, which is due out in early April.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly," a Sony Pictures spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement.

– Michael Collins, Charles Ventura

Ukraine official: 5 million rubles and full amnesty for Russian soldiers who stop fighting

Ukraine is offering Russian soldiers cash to stop fighting in a Kremlin-ordered invasion of the country.

“We offer Russian soldiers a choice: to die in an unjust war or a full amnesty and 5 million rubles in compensation. If they lay down their arms and surrender voluntarily,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a statement posted to the department’s Twitter account.

The offer of 5 million rubles is worth less than $50,000 dollars as the currency has cratered amid global sanctions levied against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

– Rick Rouan

Durbin requests Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians in U.S.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters that he plans to send a bipartisan letter to President Biden this evening asking for Temporary Protected Status for all Ukrainians currently in the U.S.

“There are 29,500 Ukrainians in the United States now on visas," said Durbin, the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate. "They include tourists and students and people working here."

He said some have expired visas and are now expected to return to Ukraine, which is “unacceptable under these current circumstances.” Temporary Protected Status would allow them to stay in the U.S. temporarily without fear of deportation.

“That is something we could and should do immediately,” he said.

– Dylan Wells and Rebecca Morin

Ukraine ambassador compares Russia to Nazi Germany

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States said Monday Russian forces that invaded her country are acting like the Nazis during World War II and killing innocent civilians.

Russian troops have shot into residential areas, orphanages, schools and kindergartens, Ambassador Oksana Markarova told reporters after a meeting with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

FROM SOCCER TO VODKA: The sanctions, bans and boycotts placed on Russia

“It is horrible,” she said. “They have to pay the price. They have to be isolated. They have to understand that it’s not OK in the 21st century to start a war and kill people in a neighboring sovereign country.”

Russia is trying to inflict devastation on Ukraine, Markarova said, but Ukrainians continue to fight back and will not surrender. “We are defending our home,” she said. “We do not have any other option.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the Congress members who met with Markarova, praised the Ukrainians and said there was “universal” support among lawmakers at the meeting to offer assistance.

“We’re exploring all the ways that we can help them,” he told reporters after the meeting.

– Michael Collins

U.S. not ruling out closing airspace to Russian planes

The U.S. has not ruled out the possibility of banning Russian flights from its airspace in retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House said Monday.

“There are obviously a range of options that remain on the table,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “So it's not off the table.”

Canada and the 27-nation European Union have closed their airspace to Russian planes. Russia has responded by closing its airspace to airlines from 36 countries.

On Monday, Russia announced that it has closed its airspace to carriers from 36 nations, including European countries and Canada, responding in kind to their move to close their respective airspaces to all Russian aircraft.

The move, announced Monday by the state aviation agency, follows a decision by the EU and Canada over the weekend to close their skies to the Russian planes in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

It added that planes from those countries could only enter Russia’s airspace with special permission.

– Michael Collins

U.S. has no plans to update nuclear threat level

The U.S. sees no reason to update its nuclear threat level despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert, the White House said Monday.

The U.S. is assessing Putin’s directive, but “at this time, we see no reason to change our own alert levels,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Neither the U.S. nor NATO has any desire for conflict with Russia, Psaki said, “and we think provocative rhetoric like this regarding nuclear weapons is dangerous, adds to the risk of miscalculation, should be avoided and will not indulge in it.”

- Michael Collins

Poll: Majority of Americans fear Russia could deploy nuclear weapons

Most Americans are wary that Russia could use nuclear weapons if the United States and its NATO allies step in to stop the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, a new poll found.

A Quinnipiac University poll conducted mostly before Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country’s nuclear forces on high alert found that more than six in 10 Americans are worried Russia could deploy nuclear weapons.

President Joe Biden says they shouldn't.

Asked Monday by a reporter as he attended a Black History Month celebration at the White House whether Americans "should be worried about nuclear war," Biden answered with a simple 'no'."

Still, there is growing support among Americans for U.S. military involvement. The share of respondents who support President Joe Biden’s decision to send U.S. troops to shore up NATO’s eastern flank increased from 54% in a Feb. 16 poll to 70% in the most recent survey.

About 70 percent of respondents said American troops should get involved if Russia moves beyond Ukraine and into a NATO country, a prospect that nearly two-thirds believe Putin has in his sights.

The poll surveyed 1,364 U.S. adults between Feb. 25-27.

-- Rick Rouan

Shell to cut ties with Russian natural gas company

Shell will exit a joint-venture with the Russian-owned natural gas company Gazprom a day after BP said it was cutting ties with a Russian state-owned oil company amid the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a prepared statement.

The company said it had about $3 billion in assets tied up in Russian ventures at the end of 2021. That includes interests in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and other joint ventures.

– Rick Rouan

Twitter to flag tweets sharing Russian state media content

Twitter will begin flagging content shared on its platform from Russian state media as it tries to stem the tide of disinformation flowing from the Kremlin.

The social media platform announced its plan on Monday. Twitter already labeled the accounts of state media outlets, but now it will flag tweets from any account sharing that content, the company’s head of site integrity Yoel Roth said.

Roth said about 45,000 tweets a day are sharing links to Russian state-affiliated media outlets.

– Rick Rouan

Macron: France will bring resolution to UN security council

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will bring a resolution to the United Nations Security Council after reinforcing to the Kremlin the need to protect civilians in the invasion of Ukraine.

Macron tweeted on Monday that he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to adopt a ceasefire and to stop attacks against civilians, residences and infrastructure. He asked Putin to respect humanitarian law, according to a translation of his tweet, and said France would bring the resolution to the UN.

The UN general assembly is scheduled to meet in an emergency special session on Monday.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States previously accused Russia of committing war crimes in the attack, including the use of heavy missiles and artillery to hit hospitals and kindergartens as well as infrastructure.

– Rick Rouan

Zelenskyy asks European Union to grant Ukraine immediate membership

Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has formally made his appeal for membership into the European Union.

Zelenskyy signed an application to grant Ukraine membership in the EU on Monday after urging the union publicly to expedite the process under a special procedure.

The request came after the European Union announced new actions against Russia, including plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, bankroll weapons for Ukraine and ban pro-Kremlin media outlets.

-- Rick Rouan

FACT CHECK ROUNDUP:What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ruble-to-bitcoin trades surge after sanctions crater Russian currency

Holders of Russian currency are turning to bitcoin as the ruble cratered in the aftermath of global sanctions that have cut off Russia from western financial institutions.

Coindesk, a cryptocurrency news organization, reported a spike on Monday in trading volume between the Russian ruble and bitcoin. Trading volumes have hit a nine-month high, according to Coindesk.

The increase came after the U.S., European allies and other countries around the globe imposed financial sanctions that have crippled Russia’s economy in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The value of the ruble compared with the U.S. dollar has plunged since the announcement of those sanctions.

-- Rick Rouan

Kremlin: Sanctions 'problematic,' worsened economy

At the outset of a brewing financial crisis, the Kremlin conceded Monday that Western sanctions were affecting the economy but remained confident effects could be dampened.

"The economic reality has considerably changed," Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, said during a press call with reporters, according to Reuters and CNN. "These are heavy sanctions, they are problematic, but Russia has the potential to offset the harm."

The U.S. and EU have sanctioned top Kremin officials and Russian elites as well as taken steps to remove Russian banks from the SWIFT network, which allows for payments between financial institutions. The West also took steps to stop the Kremlin from accessing its $640 billion in foreign reserves which Russian banks could use to buoy the isolated economy.

"Russia has been making plans for quite a long time for possible sanctions, including the most severe ones. There are response plans, they were developed and are being implemented as problems appear,” Peskov said.

He added that sanctions on Russian elites and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself were “pointless.”

– Matthew Brown

EU Foreign Affairs chief: 'Sanctions have a cost'

Days after the United States and European Union levied stringent sanctions on the Russian elite and financial system, the EU’s foreign affairs chief reiterated that sanctions will have a negative effect on the global economy. It’s a price that the West must be ready to pay, he stressed.

“This is not a free lunch. Sanctions will backlash. Sanctions have a cost,” Josep Borrell, vice president of the European Commission, said Monday. Borrell said it is important to “explain to public opinion” the costs of sanctions on the global economy.

LEARN MORE:Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine

“We have to be ready to pay this price now because if not, we will have to pay a much bigger price in the future,” Borrell continued. He noted there would be turbulence in global energy markets that would especially impact Europe in the short term, which the EU and U.S. are working to mitigate.

While the U.S. is more insulated from the economic pain of isolating Russia than Europe, President Joe Biden has also cautioned Americans that the sanctions will have ripple effects for the U.S. economy that will be felt in the stock market and energy prices

– Matthew Brown

IOC calls for exclusion of athletes from Russia, Belarus

In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday to exclude the country’s athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC said it was needed to "protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants."

The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.

The Olympic body’s call also applied to athletes and official from Belarus, which has abetted Russia’s invasion.

– Associated Press

PUTIN'S MIND:'Erratic?' 'Delusional?' Lawmakers question Putin's stability as he puts nuclear forces on alert

Swiss adopt EU sanctions

The Swiss government on Monday took the extraordinary step of joining in the EU's sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Switzerland's Federal Council decided to adopt the financial sanctions, whiich include freezing the assets of individuals and companies, as well as levying sanctions upon Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Swiss government is also joining the EU in closing its airspace to all flights from Russia and to aircraft with Russian markings. The Federal Council is suspending visas for Russian nationals, excluding diplomatic passports, and is blocking entry for "a number of individuals who have a connection to Switzerland and are close to the Russian president."

– Katie Wadington

United States imposes sanctions on Russia's Central Bank

The U.S. on Monday imposed new sanctions on Russia targeting the country's Central Bank, dealing a major blow to Moscow's economy, which holds more than $630 billion in foreign currency reserves.

The sanctions effectively cut off Russia's Central Bank from accessing assets either held in the U.S. or in U.S. dollars, severely restricting any effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to blunt the effects of previous sanctions that have sent the country's economy into a free fall.

The new restrictions, in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, also target Russia's National Wealth Fund and the Ministry of Finance.

The measures prohibit foreign financial firms with U.S. dollars from sending it to Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund or finance ministry, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the announcement.

The official said the U.S. wanted to put the penalties in place before markets opened Monday after learning from allies over the weekend that the Russian Central Bank was attempting to move assets beginning Monday morning from institutions around the world.

– Courtney Subramanian

WHAT IS SWIFT?:How would a removal from SWIFT affect Russia?

Zelenskyy creates 'international legion,' enlists foreign fighters

President Volodomyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of an “international legion” to enlist non-Ukrainians who want to support the war effort against Russia.

“We already have thousands requests from foreigners, who want to join the resistance to the (Russian) occupiers and protect the world security from Putin regime,” a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Monday.

While no other country has sent its own troops to Ukraine, the U.S., European Union and NATO have all ramped up the delivery of weapons to the eastern European country amid the Russian invasion.

Anyone interested in joining the new unit should reach out to the Ukrainian embassies in their home countries, the statement said.

The Ukrainian government has also called on the support of its civilians to assist in defending the country from Russian invasion by directly resisting and confusing invading forces.

– Matthew Brown

U.S. closes embassy in Belarus

The State Department has shut down the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday morning. Non-emergency personnel and family members at the embassy in Moscow have also been authorized to leave.

Blinken said the steps were taken "due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine."

Belarus has served as a staging area for Russian troops for weeks ahead of the invasion that started on Thursday.

– Katie Wadington

Pope Francis offers to help solve Ukraine crisis

The Vatican is offering to help in any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2 official, told several Italian newspapers in an interview published on Monday that the Holy See is “offering its willingness to facilitate dialogue with Russia."

On Friday, Pope Francis took the extraordinary step of visiting the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to meet with the Russian ambassador. The pontiff urged an end to fighting and a return to negotiations, Parolin said.

While Orthodox Christians are predominant among the faithful in Ukraine, the Catholic Church has a discreet presence in that country through believers who follow the Eastern Rite of Catholicism.

– Associated Press

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson: 'Putin must fail'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed that Western allies would impose the harshest economic sanctions possible against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his "abhorrent campaign against Ukraine."

The European Union has announced unprecedented new actions against Russia, outlining plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund a weapons purchase to assist Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets, while the Associated Press reported the United States approved the delivery of anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine.

Western powers in support of Ukraine could soon be joined by Switzerland, an oftentimes neutral country that on Monday is set to review potential sanctions and asset freezes against Russia, said President Ignazio Cassis via Reuters. Cassis said it was “very probable” the country would follow suit, the outlet reported.

"Putin must fail," the British prime minister wrote on Twitter.

– Caren Bohan and Associated Press

Contributing: The Associated Press

Russian troops enter Ukraine's second largest city

Editor's note: This page recaps the news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Saturday, Feb. 26. Follow here for updates on the attack in and around Kyiv on Sunday, Feb. 27.

Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv and fighting is underway in the streets, according to the Associated Press.

Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv and a light vehicle burning on the street. Residents were urged to stay inside.

The troops in Kharkiv arrived hours after Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities.

Earlier there were two large explosions that rocked an area south of Kyiv just before 1 a.m. One of the blasts was near the Zhuliany airport, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said. The mayor of Vasylkiv, about 25 miles south of the capital, said an oil depot there was hit, according to the Associated Press.

Elsewhere, Russian forces blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv. The explosion created mushroom-cloud and could cause an “environmental catastrophe,” warned the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection. Residents were advised to cover their windows with damp cloth or gauze and to drink plenty of fluids.

At least 240 civilian casualties are confirmed by the United Nations, including at least 64 people killed in the fighting — though it believed the “real figures are considerably higher” because many reports of casualties remain to be confirmed. More than 150,000 people have fled the Ukraine to neighboring countries and the United Nations warned that number could grow to 4 million.

Meanwhile, the United States and its European allies agreed to remove “selected” Russian banks from the international SWIFT messaging system, which allows for the movement of financial transactions.

They also moved to impose restrictions on Russia's central bank, a measure the White House and its partners said would further hammer Russia's financial systems and hit the country's wealthy and political elites.

To catch you up:

Why is Russia invading Ukraine?:Could it be the start of WWIII? We explain.

Back in the U.S.:What is the draft? And can it ever be reinstated here?

What is SWIFT?:How banning Russia from the banking system could impact the country?

Let the news come to your inbox:Sign up here for Ukraine news to your email

Russia targets Ukraine airfields in next phase

Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.

Huge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.

–Associated Press

'You cannot defeat a whole nation'

On Sunday morning, Ukranian writer Illarion Pavliuk plans to set out on a dangerous journey to help his countrymen as explosions rock Kyiv, and outgunned Ukrainian forces continue to maintain control of their capital.

Pavliuk is not a solider, but he does have a military background. In 2015, he was an intelligence volunteer in the war in Eastern Ukraine. And yet, this is what Ukraine has become – a country where internationally acclaimed artists are forced to kiss their children goodnight before they go off to defend their homeland from the occupying force. "We will never give up and we are going to win this war. You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now."

His words are haunting and powerful, with his children in the background.

"What can I tell you about this war? It is difficult to say a couple of words," he says. "I would never ever imagine my four children dropping their toys and running to sit in the thickest doorway in the house because of cruise missiles above our city; ballistic missiles.

"And I would never imagine this and I will never forgive Russia."

– Carli Pierson, USA TODAY

Read the full interview:'We will never give up': A father prepares to leave his kids and fight for Ukraine

French president asks Belarus leader to order Russian troops to leave

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked his Belarus counterpart to demand that the country, Ukraine’s neighbor, quickly order Russian troops to leave.

In a phone conversation Saturday, Macron denounced “the gravity of a decision that would authorize Russia to deploy nuclear arms on Belarus soil,” a statement by the presidential palace said.

Macron told Alexander Lukashenko that fraternity between the people of Belarus and Ukraine should lead Belarus to “refuse to be a vassal and an accomplice to Russia in the war against Ukraine,” the statement said.

Belarus was one one of several axes used by Russia to launch attacks on Ukraine, with Belarus the point to move toward the capital Kyiv, a senior U.S. defense official has said.

Macron has pushed persistently to try to claw out a ceasefire amid the war, using the telephone to talk to all sides, diplomacy and sanctions by the European Union.

– Associated Press

UN: At least 240 civilian casualties

GENEVA — The United Nations says it has confirmed at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 people killed, in the fighting in Ukraine that erupted since Russia’s invasion on Thursday — though it believed the “real figures are considerably higher” because many reports of casualties remain to be confirmed.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs relayed the count late Saturday from the U.N. human rights office, which has strict methodologies and verification procedures about the toll from conflict.

OCHA also said damage to civilian infrastructure has deprived hundreds of thousands of people of access to electricity or water, and produced a map of “humanitarian situations” in Ukraine — mostly in northern, eastern and southern Ukraine.

The human rights office had reported early Friday an initial count by its staffers of at least 127 civilian casualties – 25 people killed and 102 injured – mostly from shelling and airstrikes.

– Associated Press

US, allies committed to removing certain Russian banks from SWIFT

The United States and its European allies have agreed to remove “selected” Russian banks from the international SWIFT messaging system, the White House announced on Saturday. The White House also announced that the US and allied countries will move to impose new ”restrictive measures” on Russia’s central bank.

The new economic penalties on Moscow come as Russia’s military continues to bombard Kyiv and other population centers in its deadly invasion of Ukraine.

A senior administration official said the U.S. and EU will work to finalize the list of Russian banks that will be barred from the SWIFT system. But Russia will feel the impact of the decision well before it’s enacted, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

“I have great confidence the effects of these measures will be felt immediately in Russia’s financial markets,” the official said.

The U.S. official suggested some banks that handle energy transactions could be exempted in the SWIFT delisting process. That would help cushion the economic blow to Europe, which relies heavily on Russia for oil and gas.

The SWIFT system is based in Belgium, where officials will have the final sign-off on the list of barred institutions.

The U.S. and EU countries also announced new steps to limit the sale of “golden passports,” which allows wealthy individuals become citizens of European countries.

– Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY

Zelenskyy says he’s open for talks with Russia

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s open for talks with Russia.

Zelenskyy said in a video message Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev offered to help organize such talks. He added that “we can only welcome that.”

Zelenskyy also said he and Erdogan “agree that a ban on the passage of Russian warships into the Black Sea is very important today,” adding that “it has been done.” Turkey, however, hasn’t announced any ban for Russian warships to move through Turkish Straits following Erdogan’s talk with Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said that “Ukrainians’ readiness to protect our state, our solidarity and courage have thwarted the scenario of occupation of our country.”

“The world has seen that Ukrainians are strong, Ukrainians are brave, Ukrainians stand on their land and will not surrender it,” he said.

– Associated Press

Germany to send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, drops opposition to SWIFT sanctions for Russia

In a significant shift, the German government said Saturday it will send weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine and supports some restrictions of the SWIFT global banking system for Russia.

Germany’s chancellery announced it will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine “as quickly as possible.”

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. It threatens our entire post-war order,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. “In this situation, it is our duty to help Ukraine, to the best of our ability, to defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s invading army.”

In addition, the German economy and climate ministry said Germany is allowing the Netherlands to ship 400 German-made anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

Germany had long stuck to a policy of not exporting deadly weapons to conflict zones, including Ukraine. As recently as Friday, government officials said they would abide by that policy.

Germany on Saturday also joined the rest of the European Union in voicing support for SWIFT sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and German Economics Minister Robert Habeck announced the decision in a joint statement that indicated there might be limits in how far Germany is willing to go on the issue.

“We are working flat out on how to limit the collateral damage of a disconnection from #SWIFT, so that it hits the right people. What we need is a targeted and functional restriction of SWIFT,” the officials wrote in a statement.

SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is a global messaging system connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world.

SWIFT was formed in 1973, and is headquartered in Belgium. It is overseen by the National Bank of Belgium, in addition to the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the European Central Bank and others, NBC News reported. It connects more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, so banks can be informed about transactions.

Earlier Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also voiced his approval for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT.

The U.S. did not impose removing Russia from SWIFT following concerns from European allies in what was seen as America's harshest punishment at its disposal.

What is SWIFT?:How could banning Russia from the banking system impact the country?

– JJ Hensley and Associated Press

Russian forces meet firm resistance on path to Kyiv

Russian forces have grown increasingly frustrated by Ukrainian resistance, particularly near the capital of Kiev, and the Russian advance remains about 18 miles from the city, a senior Defense Department official said Saturday.

Russia has, however, sent reconnaissance forces into Kyiv, the official said, declining to say how many of those troops have penetrated the city.

The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the Pentagon had used several means to determine that Russian forces invading Ukraine had been stalled by determined resistance.

The official warned that the battlefield situation is fluid and changing rapidly.

Addressing reports that some Russian military vehicles had run out of gas, the official said the invading force sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin had expended more fuel resources than it had planned for.

Ukrainian forces continue to contest the airspace over the country with warplanes and missile defense, the official said.

Also Saturday, the Pentagon announced that $350 in emergency military aid to Ukraine. That package includes Javelin anti-armor missiles, ammunition and body armor, according to the official. Prior to the invasion, military materiel had been arriving in Ukraine by cargo aircraft. U.S. military aid has continued to flow into Ukraine in the last few days but the official declined to say how it has arrived there.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that “the speed of the Russian advance has temporarily slowed likely as a result of acute logistical difficulties and strong Ukrainian resistance.”

“Russian forces are bypassing major Ukrainian population centres while leaving forces to encircle and isolate them,” the ministry said.

– Tom Vanden Brook and Associated Press

Snake Island defiance:Ukrainian soldier on Snake Island tells Russian officer 'go (expletive) yourself' before being killed

Fleeing to the border: Over 150,000 Ukrainians seek refuge

MEDYKA, Poland – At least 150,000 people have fled Ukraine into Poland and other neighboring countries in the wake of the Russian invasion, the U.N. refugee agency said Saturday.

Some walked many miles through the night while others fled by train, car or bus, forming lines miles long at border crossings. They were greeted by waiting relatives and friends or headed on their own to reception centers organized by neighboring governments.

“The numbers and the situation is changing minute by minute,” said Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “At least 150,000 people have fled, they are refugees outside of Ukraine. ... At least 100,000 people – but probably a much larger number – have been displaced inside Ukraine.”

Those arriving were mostly women, children and the elderly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy banned men of military age from 18 to 60 from leaving. Some Ukrainian men were heading back into Ukraine from Poland to take up arms against the Russian forces.

- The Associated Press

Chelsea's Russian billionaire owner hands over Premier League club

LONDON — Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich suddenly handed over the "stewardship and care" of the Premier League club to its charitable foundation trustees on Saturday.

The move came after a member of the British parliament called for the Russian billionaire to hand over the club in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, made no mention of the war in his statement.

– The Associated Press

Invasion response:Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich passes 'stewardship and care' of Premier League club

Former president Poroschenko: everyone understands risk of death

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroschenko, Zelenskyy’s predecessor, said he was prepared to die to defend his country.

“I think that we should do our best to protect our nation,” he told CNN in an interview Saturday. “To protect the nation against the Russian aggressor definitely bring the risk of life.”

Poroschenko, who was wearing a flak jacket and standing outside in Kyiv with members of the Ukraine military, sounded clear-eyed and defiant.

“Everybody here – all the young and old people – fully understand that we have this risk,” he said. “Somebody has a choice to go abroad. Somebody has a choice to be the refugee in some regions of Ukraine. But many, the biggest part, make a decision to take the rifle and to protect the nation.”

“I proud for these people. I proud for this country. And I proud to be Ukrainian.”

– Ledyard King

Biden authorizes $350 million more in US military aid for Ukraine

The Biden administration is providing an additional $350 million in immediate U.S. military assistance to Ukraine as Russia continues a full-scale attack on the country with intense fighting in the capital city of Kyiv.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the drawdown of funds Saturday morning after Biden authorized the emergency military aid late Friday night through the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

“This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne, and other threats it is now facing,” Blinken said in a statement. “It is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation.”

The aid brings the U.S.’s total assistance to Ukraine to more than $1 billion over the past year, according to Blinken, including $200 million in military assistance in December and $60 million last fall.

Zelenskyy has urged Ukraine civilians to join the fight against Russia, and as he remains defiant about not leaving Kyiv, he’s made clear about the need for more help.

“I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said in a video Friday.

– Joey Garrison

In Kyiv, residents seek shelter after night of explosions, street clashes

KYIV, Ukraine – Russian troops pressed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday after a night of air strikes and street fighting.

Ukrainian officials have reported some success in fending off assaults. A U.S. official told reporters Friday the Pentagon had information suggesting that Moscow had expected a faster advance on Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused an American offer to evacuate, insisting he would stay. “The fight is here,” he said.

Skirmishes reported on the edge of Kyiv suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. A missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the city’s southwestern outskirts near one of Kyiv’s two passenger airports, Mayor Vitali Klitchsko said, leaving a jagged hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured.

Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but civilians have been killed and injured during Europe’s largest ground war since World War II.

– Caren Bohan and Associated Press

TikTok is Russia's newest weapon in arsenal for anti-Ukraine propaganda

In 2014, Russia flooded the internet with fake accounts pushing disinformation about its takeover of Crimea. Eight years later, experts say Russia is mounting a far more sophisticated propaganda effort as it invades Ukraine.

Armies of trolls and bots stir up anti-Ukrainian sentiment. State-controlled media outlets look to divide Western audiences. Clever TikTok videos serve up Russian nationalism with a side of humor.

The effort amounts to an emerging part of Russia’s war arsenal with the shaping of opinion through orchestrated disinformation fighting alongside actual troops and weapons.

Analysts at several different research organizations contacted by The Associated Press said they are seeing a sharp increase in online activity by groups affiliated with the Russian state. That’s in keeping with Russia’s strategy of using social media and state-run outlets to galvanize domestic support while seeking to destabilize the Western alliance.

Researchers saw a sudden and dramatic increase in anti-Ukrainian content in the days immediately before the invasion. On Valentine’s Day, for instance, the number of anti-Ukrainian posts created by the sample of Twitter accounts jumped by 11,000% when compared with just days earlier. Analysts believe a significant portion of the accounts are inauthentic and controlled by groups linked to the Russian government.

– David Klepper, The Associated Press

Russian propaganda:TikTok is Russia's newest weapon in arsenal for anti-Ukraine propaganda

Troops from NATO member nations could be deployed to defend Slovakia

Slovakia’s defense minister says up to 1,200 foreign troops from other NATO members could be deployed in his country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The plan is part of the NATO initiative to reassure member countries on the alliance’s eastern flank by sending forces to help protect them. Slovakia borders Ukraine.

Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said forces from the Netherlands and Germany are among those expected to come. Germany will also provide the Patriot system to boost Slovakia’s air defense.

The country’s government and Parliament have not yet approved the plan.

Nad also said his country’s government has approved sending arms and fuel worth 11 million euros ($12.4 million) requested by Ukraine. The aid will include 10 million liters (2.6 million gallons) of fuel, 2.4 million liters (630,000 gallons) of aviation fuel and 12,000 pieces of ammunition.

– The Associated Press

Zelenskyy mobilizes Ukrainian reservists and those eligible for service

After Russia launched a military invasion into Ukraine early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called up reservists and those liable for service for a full military mobilization.

As many Ukrainians fled to neighboring countries, the Ukraine State Border Guard Service announced that men ages 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving the country, ahead of a possible draft to increase the country's military service.

Talk of conscription led to questions in the U.S. about whether the government could ever reinstate the draft. That is highly unlikely in a country where antiwar sentiment has grown in the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress would have to reinstate the draft since induction authority expired in 1973. If approved, the president would then be authorized to induct civilians through the Selective Service Administration into the armed forces under an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act.

Even though there is no draft currently, almost all men and male immigrants aged 18 to 25 are required to register with the Selective Service. Women make up close to 17% of the U.S. armed forces, but Congress would have to pass legislation amending the act to require women register.

– Chelsey Cox

Russian protesters risk arrest to decry Putin's war

MOSCOW – Risking arrest and intimidation, Russian citizens have taken to the streets in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities to protest President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Russians with prominent platforms – celebrity actors, television presenters, comedians and pop stars – risked their state contracts and jobs to make anti-war statements.

Many Russians have seen horrifying images from the Ukraine conflict, broadcast by independent media. Some show the Russian army destroying apartment blocks with people inside, a tank rolling over a vehicle with an elderly man inside and bleeding women crying for an end to the fighting.

In St. Petersburg, Sergei Bobovnikov, an antique art expert, joined a street rally Thursday night where hundreds of people crowded the central avenue, Nevsky Prospect.

"No to war!" they chanted. "Hands off Ukraine!"

Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow, according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, cities across Europe saw large gatherings where people voiced their outrage.

In London, demonstrators outside the Downing Street residence of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held up placards Friday that read "Stop the war" and "Total embargo on Russia."

From New York to Paris, cities lit up buildings in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

– Anna Nemtsova, Caren Bohan and Associated Press

Russian official shrugs off Western sanctions

A senior Russian official has warned that Moscow could react to Western sanctions over its attack on Ukraine by opting out of the last remaining nuclear arms pact and freezing Western assets.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, shrugged off a set of crippling sanctions that the U.S., the European Union and other allies slapped on Russia as a reflection of Western “political impotence.”

In comments posted on his page on Russian social media VKontakte, Medvedev said the sanctions could offer Moscow a pretext for a complete review of its ties with the West, suggesting that Russia could opt out of the New START nuclear arms control treaty that limits the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals.

-- Associated Press

Czechs to send more arms to Ukraine

The Czech Republic’s government has approved a plan to send more arms to Ukraine.

The Defense Ministry said it is immediately sending machine guns, submachine guns, assault rifles and pistols together with ammunition worth 188 million Czech crowns ($8.6 million).

The ministry said the Czechs will transport the weapons and deliver them to a place determined by the Ukrainian side.

The Czech Republic has already agreed to donate some 4,000 pieces of artillery shells worth 36.6 million Czech crowns ($1.7 million) to Ukraine.

-- Associated Press

'Our world is crumbling':Ukrainians try to flee homes with food, belongings amid Russian invasion

Poles quit World Cup qualifying against Russia

WARSAW, Poland -- The Polish Football Association says it will not play its World Cup qualifying match against Russia due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More:Poland refuses to play against Russia in 2022 World Cup qualifying playoff

“No more words, time to act!” said association president Cezary Kulesza on Twitter, saying the move was prompted by the “escalation of the aggression.”

The match had been scheduled for March 24.

-- Associated Press

Ukrainian health minister: Nearly 200 dead, 1,000 wounded

The Ukrainian health minister says that 198 people have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded in the Russian offensive.

Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Saturday that there were three children among those killed. His statement made it unclear whether the casualties included both military and civilians.

He said another 1,115 people, including 33 children, were wounded in the Russian invasion that began Thursday with massive air and missile strikes and troops forging into Ukraine from the north, east and south.

-- Associated Press

Zelenskyy: Ukraine is fighting 'with weapons in hand'

Zelenskyy detailed further diplomatic efforts to drum up support for Ukraine Saturday, tweeting about a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Ukraine is fighting the invader with weapons in hands, defending its freedom and European future. Discussed with @vonderleyen effective assistance to our country from (the European Union) in this heroic struggle. I believe that the #EU also chooses Ukraine," he tweeted.

-- Luciana Lopez

Zelenskyy: 'Our weapons are our truth'

In a selfie-style video posted to twitter early on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to stay and fight on.

"I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth," he declared, denouncing as disinformation claims that he had surrendered or fled.

-- Associated Press

Russia-Ukraine explained:Inside the crisis as US calls Russian movements an invasion

Sean Penn calls Russian invasion of Ukraine 'a brutal mistake' while filming documentary there

Sean Penn, in Ukraine working on a documentary about the ongoing Russian assault, called the invasion "already a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken."

"If he doesn't relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind," Penn said in a statement to USA TODAY early Saturday morning. President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people "have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost."

-- Brian Truitt

Read the whole story here:Sean Penn calls Russian invasion of Ukraine 'a brutal mistake' while filming documentary there

Biden's hitting Russia's yacht-riding rich with sanctions. Will it blunt Putin's Ukraine invasion?

Russia's wealthy oligarchs and political elites flaunt a level of in-your-face affluence across the world. This week, their wealth and connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin made some of them targets of President Joe Biden's sanctions in response to the Kremlin’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine.

But if the Biden administration really wants to hurt Russian oligarchs enough to rein in Putin's actions in Ukraine, it needs to hit them much harder – and hit a lot more of them, some U.S. officials and kleptocracy experts told USA TODAY.

By any measure, the new rounds of U.S. financial blockages issued this week go far beyond what has been done in the past to pressure Putin into curbing his rogue behavior, White House officials said. The sweeping actions would cause extreme hardship for some of Russia’s largest financial institutions and a small handful of Russian oligarchs and kleptocrats that Biden said use them as their own “glorified piggy bank.”

-- Josh Meyer

US sanctions on Russian oligarchs miss richest of rich

The term Russian oligarch conjures images of posh London mansions, gold-plated Bentleys and sleek superyachts in the Mediterranean, their decks draped with partiers dripping in jewels.

But the raft of sanctions on oligarchs announced by President Joe Biden this week in response to the invasion of Ukraine may do little to dim the jet-setting lifestyles of Russia’s ultra-rich and infamous – much less force a withdrawal of tanks and troops.

U.S. sanctions target Russian President Vladmir Putin and a handful of individuals believed to be among his closest security advisers, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

But the list is just as notable for who isn’t on it — most of the top names from Forbes’ list of the richest Russians whose multi-billion-dollar fortunes are now largely intertwined with the West, from investments in Silicon Valley start-ups to British Premier League soccer teams.

Citing the concerns of European allies, the U.S. also didn’t impose what was seen as the harshest punishment at its disposal, banning Russia from SWIFT, the international financial system that banks use to move money around the world.

-- Associated Press