March 5, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the “evolution” of the situation in Ukraine is “something China does not want to see,” in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday. 

Wang said the Ukraine crisis should be solved through “dialogue and negotiation” and called on the United States, NATO, and the European Union to engage in “equal dialogue” with Russia. He said they should “pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s continuous eastward expansion on Russia’s security.”

“China supports all efforts conducive to de-escalation and political settlement of the situation, while opposing any moves which are adverse to promoting a diplomatic solution and add fuel to the flames,” Wang said.

Blinken underscored on the call that Moscow will “pay a high price” for its “premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war” in Ukraine, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. He said “the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom, self-determination and sovereignty.”

Some context: China and Russia share a strategic interest in challenging the West but the invasion of Ukraine has put their friendship to the test.

Beijing finds itself in a complex position as Russia’s invasion intensifies, needing to balance a close strategic partnership with Moscow with its seemingly contradictory policy of supporting state sovereignty.

China has not rushed to help Russia after its economy was slammed by sanctions from all over the world, with experts saying Beijing’s options are limited. Analysts say Chinese banks and companies also fear secondary sanctions if they deal with Russian counterparts.

Americans with family in Ukraine are desperately searching for a way to help their loved ones.

Kristina Boroday and Dmytro Teterev, a Ukrainian-American couple living in San Diego, say most of their family is still in Ukraine and they need shelter and security.

“I talk to them every morning, every night. Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night because I can’t sleep, so I texted them. I call them. I make sure that they are alive. I make sure that they are safe. So, all I’m hearing from them is that we need help, we need shelter, we need some kind of certainty that we are going to be safe. They don’t have that,” Boroday said. 

Teterev said his family face an impossible decision about whether to stay or leave.

“It’s a day by day, hour by hour situation,” he said. “I’m living in two time zones. One is primarily the Ukrainian time zone and then one out here. I just care for their safety. I do whatever it takes.”

Boroday said her immediate family are staying put “because that is their home.”

But her other family members, “are unable to escape, even if they could, because they don’t even know if they are going to get bombed or a rocket is going to fly over their head while they are driving to the border. So, it’s just those conversations that — are we going to be safe if we even try to escape?” she said.

Teterev said he’s been working with volunteer groups to try and get first aid kits and other supplies into the country but even sending money to Ukraine is an issue, “because there’s not a way to access that money.”

Boroday urged people to donate what they could as people in Ukraine urgently need supplies like food and medicine.

“Yes money will help but they need supplies,” she said. “They are not getting food delivered into the country. They are not getting medicine delivered into their country … they need to get the supplies over to them, so they have something to live off of.”

Want to help? Learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine here. 

Germany’s Embassy in South Africa has hit back at Russia’s claim the invasion of Ukraine is aimed at “de-Nazifying” the country.

“Sorry, but we can’t stay silent on this one,” the German Embassy in Pretoria tweeted Saturday in response to a post by the Russian Embassy that Putin’s forces were fighting against Nazis. 

The Russian Embassy in South Africa tweeted on Friday, “Dear subscribers, we have received a great number of letters of solidarity from South Africans, both individuals and organizations. We appreciate your support and glad you decided to stand with us today, when Russia, like 80 years ago, is fighting Nazism in Ukraine!”

The German Embassy hit back at the Russian tweet saying: “What [Russia] is doing in [Ukraine] is slaughtering innocent children, women and men for its own gain.
“It’s definitely not ‘fighting Nazism.’ Shame on anyone who’s falling for this. (Sadly, we’re kinda experts on Nazism.)”

The German government issued a statement early Sunday following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Berlin.

The focus of their 90-minute meeting were the results of talks between Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Moscow, according to German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Hebestreit said the leaders of Germany and Israel agreed to stay in close contact and that “a common goal remains to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible.”

Russian rockets are forcing many Ukrainian families to choose whether to stay or go, or even leave behind loved ones who can’t make the treacherous journey out of the country.

Elena Belaya fled Kyiv to Poland with her 2-year-old daughter. Sharing videos and pictures of a helicopter overhead as they were trying to escape, Belaya said she was worried they wouldn’t even make it to the border.

Belaya said it was 5:36 a.m. and she was catching up with the news on her phone when she heard “something like a big burst” outside.

“I sent my husband to look what’s going on outside. He said that, yes, something really is going (on) but very far. Then we started to look through the news, and we realized that the war (had) began,” she said.

They decided to leave for the Polish border but her husband couldn’t go with them — Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 are barred from leaving the country.

“It was most difficult (time) in this situation… He said that I must save our child and go to the (place of) safety, and he convinced me to cross the border alone only with my child.”

At the border, Belaya said they encountered long lines of cars and they had to walk 30 kilometers to cross into Poland.

“It was very, very hard because I don’t know (the) Polish language. I don’t know Poland at all. I have only money for several weekends to live, for this money with my child. It’s like something very unknown to me and because of my child I made this step. I couldn’t let my husband go for very long period of time. We were crying, we were hugging,” she said.
“I realized that I must stay strong for my daughter. It’s a big mission for me to protect my daughter.”

Belaya said her daughter asks every day when daddy is going to be with them. She texts her husband constantly to check he is still alive, she said.

For now, she’s living day by day in a hostel with about 40 other refugees, including children, with only the clothes she has on her back. She said her daughter has made some friends and it’s like a kindergarten there. They’re holding out hope that one day their family will be reunited. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the people of the breakaway regions in Donbas in his Saturday video address posted to Facebook.

He called on the people of Donbas to fight for their rights and freedom and urged them to protect themselves from Russia.

“To everyone who can hear us, whose memory hasn’t been erased by propaganda, whose eyes weren’t shut by fear, whose soul wasn’t disfigured by cynicism — Fight!” he said. “Fight for your rights! For your freedom, for Ukraine! Together with Kherson, together with Berdyansk, together with Kyiv and all the rest of Ukrainian cities that value life and are not afraid of anything.”

Zelensky addressed Donbas’ skepticism of Ukraine, saying, “I know that many of you believed that Ukraine allegedly hates you. Will allegedly attack you. Will allegedly destroy you. Liars on Russian TV talk about it every day. Liars. It’s their job to lie to you every day. But this should not be your destiny.”

Days prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the leader of the pro-Moscow Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, ordered a general mobilization, claiming Ukraine was planning an offensive against the region.

The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserts the two separatist-controlled regions in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, known as the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), are in effect Russian-occupied, where unmarked Russian forces have been propping up separatist fighters since 2014.

Zelensky pointed to the scale of attacks Russian forces have carried out on Ukrainian cities.

“You were told that we are destroying cities. Look at Kharkiv. At Chernihiv …They were killing us. They were killing children,” Zelensky said.
“It did it right in front of your eyes. Protect yourself! Otherwise, it will take your life, too. Your houses.”

He said Ukraine does not shoot its people or attack residential buildings, adding Donbas “has always been and will be our people. Our citizens.”

Ukraine’s nuclear regulator is in communication with staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after it was seized by Russian forces on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Saturday.

Following reports staff at the plant had been forced to work at gunpoint, Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, told reporters the agency is in touch with Ukrainian nuclear officials and has obtained shift patterns for staff.

Grossi has repeatedly stressed the importance that staff operating Ukraine’s nuclear facilities be allowed to rest and rotate so they can carry out their jobs safely, according to the IAEA.

He called it a “tense” situation with Russian forces controlling the Zaporizhzhia plant and Ukrainian staff operating it, saying the situation “certainly cannot last for too long.” 

The head of Energoatom, the body that oversees Ukraine’s power plants, told Grossi on Friday the atomic engineers at the plant were now allowed to change work shifts, according to a statement from the IAEA.

Chernobyl staff work without a break: However, the IAEA has not yet ascertained the shift patterns of staff at the Chernobyl power plant, he continued. 

Russian forces have prevented Chernobyl workers from changing shifts since occupying the plant, meaning the same 100 personnel have been operating the plant for 10 days straight, Yuriy Fomichev, the mayor of Slavutych, told CNN on Saturday.

The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it would bring Ukraine’s request for $1.4 billion in emergency financing to its executive board as early as next week.

Countries with close economic ties to Russia are also at risk for shortages and supply disruptions, the IMF added. It is in talks with neighboring Moldova for aid options.

After a meeting Friday led by Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF said there were serious economic consequences in the region. Energy and wheat prices have surged, adding to the effects of inflation from the pandemic and global supply chain disruptions.

“Price shocks will have an impact worldwide, especially on poor households for whom food and fuel are a higher proportion of expenses,” the IMF said in a statement. “Should the conflict escalate, the economic damage would be all the more devastating.”

The IMF said the effects of sanctions on Russia would also spill into other countries.

Monetary authorities throughout the world will have to carefully monitor rising prices in their nations, it added, and policies should be implemented to protect economically vulnerable households.

Ukraine, whose airports have been damaged and are now closed, will face significant reconstruction costs, according to the IMF. The organization said earlier this week the country has $2.2 billion available between now and June from a previously approved standby arrangement.

US President Joe Biden “highlighted the ongoing actions undertaken by the United States, its Allies and partners, and private industry to raise the costs on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine,” in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Saturday evening, the White House said.

“In particular, he welcomed the decision this evening by Visa and Mastercard to suspend service in Russia,” the White House said.
“President Biden noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine and is working closely with Congress to secure additional funding.” 

The call lasted for about 30 minutes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the US for assistance in establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine during a Zoom call with US lawmakers earlier Saturday, according to a person familiar with the session.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly pleaded with NATO and Western officials to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a move which could prevent Russian forces from carrying out airstrikes against their country.

In the Zoom call, Zelensky also asked US senators for greater sanctions on Russia, including on energy, and for more military assistance directed to Ukrainian forces. He thanked the US for the support it has delivered so far, but his overall message was that his country needs more help as it strains against Russia’s invasion.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two leaders have spoken at least five times.

On Saturday’s call, the White House said Biden “reiterated his concern about the recent Russian attack on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and he commended the skill and bravery of the Ukrainian operators who have kept the reactors in safe condition.” 

Putin’s warning: Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday he would consider countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participants in a military conflict.”

But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that a no-fly zone is not an option being considered by the alliance.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that establishing such a zone could lead to a “full-fledged war in Europe,” but added Washington would continue to work with its allies to provide Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves from Russian aggression.

The US is working with Poland on the possibility of Poland providing fighter jets to Ukraine along with consulting with other allies, a White House spokesperson confirms, as Ukrainian President Zelensky is pushing for eastern European countries to send fighter aircraft into his country.

As part of the conversations with Poland, the US is determining what “capabilities we could provide to backfill Poland if it decided to transfer planes to Ukraine,” said the spokesperson, who would not detail what backfill options are under consideration.

The spokesperson said sending fighter jets into Ukraine is a “sovereign decision for any country to make” and noted there are a host of logistics to work through, including how the aircraft would be transferred from Poland to Ukraine.

Two lawmakers participating in a zoom call with the Ukrainian president earlier Saturday said Zelensky said Poland has signaled its prepared to send MiG fighter jets but that “they are only waiting for you [the US] to allow it.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and said Ukraine will receive additional Starlink antennas to assist destroyed cities without internet access.

“I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds,” Zelensky said in a tweet early Sunday. “Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities.”

Starlink antennas can be used to connect to the company’s satellite-based internet service which, according to the Starlink website, is “ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable.”

The Starlink dishes can be assembled “in a matter of minutes to support emergency responders in disaster scenarios,” according to its website.

Musk sent a truckload of Starlink equipment to Ukraine this week, responding to a plea from the country’s vice prime minister amid fears Ukrainians could lose internet access if Russia continues its attacks on communication infrastructure.

However, Musk also warned Ukrainians to use the technology “with caution.” In a Thursday tweet, he said the Starlink system has a high probability of being targeted by Russian forces since it is “the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine.”

Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, has painted a grim picture of life in the city.

“The situation is very complicated,” Boichenko said in an interview on a YouTube channel Saturday. “The Russian army has already put up a blockade on the humanitarian corridor. We have a lot of social problems, which all the Russians have created.”

Boichenko said the city, which has a population of nearly 400,000, has been without power for five days. “All our thermal substations rely on this power supply, so accordingly, we are without heat,” he said.

Boichenko said there are no mobile networks, and “since the attack on Mariupol, we lost our reserve water supply, and so we are totally without water now. “

“[The Russian army] is working to besiege the city and set up a blockade,” he said. “They want to cut us off from the humanitarian corridor, shutting down the delivery of essential goods, medical supplies, even baby food. Their goal is to choke the city and place it under an unbearable stress.”

Boichenko said the “wounded and dead over these past five days number in the dozens. By the eighth day, there were hundreds. Now, we are already talking about thousands.

“These figures are only going to get worse,” Boichenko said. “But this is the sixth straight day of airstrikes and we are not able to get out to recover the dead.

“They say they want to save Ukrainians from being killed by the Ukrainian [state] but they are the ones doing the killing,” Boichenko said. “Listen, our brave doctors have been saving lives here now for 10 straight days. They live and sleep at our hospitals with their families.”

Boichenko talked about the humanitarian corridor, which had been cancelled Saturday. 

“We had 50 buses full of fuel, and we were just waiting for a ceasefire and for the roads to open so we can get people out of here,” he said. “But now we are down to just 30 buses. We hid those buses in another location, away from the shelling, and lost another 10 there. So we are down to 20.

“So, when this humanitarian corridor finally opens to us tomorrow or whenever, we may not have any buses left to evacuate the people.”

Boichenko said saving the city was out of the question. “The only task now is to open up the humanitarian corridor to Mariupol at any cost.

“All these talks are lies,” he said. “All this is being done, I will repeat for the thousandth time, to destroy us as a nation.”

Boichenko insisted morale in Mariupol was strong but they are “just hanging on.”

“We are holding out hope that maybe tomorrow at the crack of dawn, perhaps a tiny dewdrop of love will splash down on the people of this city,” he said.

“The city of Mariupol has ceased to exist,” Boichenko told the YouTube interviewer, “at least the city that you once saw.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lay out a six-point plan of action on the Russia-Ukraine war during meetings with Canadian, Dutch, and Central European leaders next week. 

Johnson is set to tell his counterparts they must come together under his plan to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin “fails in his ambition,” according to a Downing Street news release on Saturday.

The plan, according to the news release, calls on countries to mobilize “an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine, support Ukraine in its efforts to provide its own self-defense and maximize the economic pressure on Putin’s Russia.” 

According to the news release, the plan also calls on the UK’s partners to “prevent the creeping normalization of what Russia is doing in Ukraine, pursue diplomatic paths to de-escalation but only on the basis of full participation by the legitimate government of Ukraine and begin a rapid campaign to strengthen security and resilience across the Euro-Atlantic area.”

“Putin must fail and must be seen to fail in this act of aggression,” the release said. “It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order – we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force.”

Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have suspended their operations in Russia.

Citing the “unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment,” Mastercard announced its decision in a statement issued Saturday.

“Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine,” its statement said. “This decision flows from our recent action to block multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network, as required by regulators globally.”

Mastercard, which has operated in Russia for more than 25 years, said “cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by the Mastercard network.”

The credit card company, which said it has nearly 200 employees in Russia, added “any Mastercard issued outside of the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs.” 

Visa said it plans to work with its clients and partners within Russia to suspend all Visa transactions and operations in the country, according to a statement also issued Saturday.

Visa said in the coming days “all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation.”

“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Visa Chairman and CEO Al Kelly. “We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged Ukrainians to keep up their resistance, saying, “Ukrainians! In all of our cities, where the enemy invaded, go on the offensive. Go out on the streets. We need to fight every time we have an opportunity.”

In a video address posted on his official Facebook page, Zelensky said Ukrainians would not give their country “away to an enemy” and commended the Ukrainian people’s faith.

“When you don’t have a firearm but they respond with gunshots and you don’t run … This is the reason why occupation is temporary. Our people – Ukrainians – don’t back down,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky applauded the Ukrainian people’s resistance and protests.

“They scream at occupants to go home, like the Russian battleship, pushing the occupants out of our territory,” he continued. “Every meter of our Ukrainian land reclaimed by protest is a step forward, a step toward victory.”

Shell Oil, Europe’s largest oil company, has said it will donate the profits from a recent purchase of Russian crude oil to a fund designed to help Ukrainian refugees following criticism from Ukraine’s foreign minister.

“We will commit profits from the limited amount of Russian oil we have to purchase to a dedicated fund,” the company said in a statement. “We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine where the monies from this fund are best placed to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of Ukraine.” 

Shell Oil purchased the oil at a significant discount, saying it had to in order to meet and satisfy purchase orders from prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said the oil smelled of “Ukrainian blood” in a Saturday tweet.

“I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia,” he said.

Oleksiy Kuleba, head of Kyiv’s Regional State Administration, said a town northwest of Kyiv is “almost completely destroyed.”

“There’s no water and electricity there … There is no Borodyanka. It is almost completely destroyed. The city center is just awful. Borodyanka is under the influence of Russian troops; they control this settlement,” Kuleba said.

Kuleba claimed earlier today on his Telegram account that Russian troops appeared to take over a psychiatric hospital there with hundreds of patients, but they have now left. Russian forces are still in the immediate area, he said.

“These people are mostly sick, they are mostly people with special needs. But these are our people and we cannot and will never leave them,” Kuleba said earlier.

“Today we do not understand how to evacuate these people, how to help them,” he said, adding that they were running out of medicine and water.

Following a missile attack on a large apartment block in Borodyanka on March 2, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service told CNN yesterday that people may still be trapped in the wreckage of the building. Borodyanka has seen persistent shelling over the past few days, as have small towns around it. 

The Italian financial police have seized villas, houses and yachts worth 143 million euros (more than $150 million USD) from five Russian oligarchs, the police said Saturday in a statement.

The Special Unit of the Financial Police, in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Imperia and the Aeronaval Operational Department of Genoa, executed asset-freezing orders on Friday against multiple Russian oligarchs, according to the statement.

Freezing orders were executed against the following people:

These restrictive measures come after the EU Council imposed sanctions on several persons and entities over Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.

Read more about how Russian elites are scrambling to get ahead of sanctions:

A general view outside of Stamford Bridge, Home of Chelsea Football Club, after owner Roman Abramovich announced he is selling the club. The Russian-Israeli billionaire has owned the Blues since 2003 and helped steer the Stamford Bridge club to 19 major trophies. Picture date: Thursday March 3, 2022. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Related article 'How fast could you sell this?' Russian elites scramble to move, sell assets to get ahead of international crackdown | CNN Politics

The UK has called Russia’s proposed pause in fire in Mariupol a likely “attempt to deflect international condemnation” while they resettled forces for “renewed offensive activity,” the UK Ministry of Defence said Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, the Russian defense ministry declared a pause in fire in the southeastern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to facilitate the opening of evacuation corridors “for the exit of civilians.”  

Later Saturday, though, the ministry said that “not a single civilian was able to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha along the announced security corridors,” maintaining that the cities’ civilian populations were being “held by nationalist formations as human shields” in a statement carried by Russian news agency TASS.

“By accusing Ukraine of breaking the agreement, Russia is likely seeking to shift responsibility for current and future civilian casualties in the city,” the UK ministry said in its statement posted to Twitter.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a televised address on Saturday that his country wanted stronger sanctions against Russia.

“They include, among others, banning the Russians bank Sberbank from SWIFT, closing European ports for Russian ships, closing access of Russia to cryptocurrency and stopping purchases of Russian oil,” Kuleba said. 

Russian oil “smells with Ukrainian blood today,” the foreign minister said, adding that “buying it is financing Russian war crimes.”

He reiterated Ukraine’s call on international allies to protect Ukrainian airspace from the “indiscriminate and barbaric bombardment by the Russians” and to provide the country with “combat aircraft and serious air defense, missiles and weapons.”

“My message to the world is clear. When all European and other leaders at all ceremonies throughout the year, repeat those separate words, ‘never again,’ they now need to prove with actions that they stand by those words,” Kuleba remarked, harking back to the Nazi bombings of European capitals during World War II. 

“Prove now that you have learned to the lessons of the past, that a new brutal force in Europe can be stopped before it drags the whole continent into devastating conflict,” the foreign minister said, concluding his speech.

During the message, Kuleba commended the “admirable” courage of “peaceful protestors” in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson who “demonstrated in front of armed Russian invaders,” telling them that “they are Ukrainians, and their city belongs to Ukraine.”

“The message of the heroic Ukrainian people is simple,” he said. “Russians, go home. You are on foreign land where no one needs you. And no one welcomes you with flowers. Putin, leave Ukraine alone. You will not win this war,” Kuleba emphasized during the brief message. 

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky called on the United States for assistance in establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine during a Zoom call with US lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the session.

Zelensky asked US senators for greater sanctions on Russia, including on energy, and for more military assistance directed to Ukrainian forces. He thanked the US for the support it has delivered so far, but his overall message was that his country needs more help as it strains against Russia’s invasion.

Another senator on the call said that Zelensky advocated for banning Russian oil imports, suspending all commercial transactions — like Visa and Mastercard — and implored the lawmakers to help Ukraine get more planes that Ukrainian pilots are trained in and can fly. He said they would do the fighting and flying, but he needs the aircraft.

The call, which started at about 9:30 a.m., ET, lasted an hour.

At the end of the call, dozens of lawmakers unmuted themselves to thank Zelensky and voice their support, with some saying “Slava Ukraini,” according to someone who was on the call who said the Ukrainian president was clearly moved by the gesture.

His message was delivered amid ongoing conversations between the US and European allies about the possibility of providing Ukraine with fighter jet aircrafts from Eastern European countries, five sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.

Officials say there is a divide among countries about whether or not individual nations should provide Ukraine aircraft, given the associated risks. The US and NATO oppose creating a no-fly zone in Ukraine — such a move, they have warned, could lead to “full-fledged war in Europe.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that countries that impose such a no-fly zone would be considered to be participating in the conflict.

Read more about the call here:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on at a press conference for selected media at his official residence the Maryinsky Palace on March 3, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Related article Zelensky calls for no-fly zone and harsher sanctions on Russia in Zoom meeting with US lawmakers

The American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has been in the northern Aegean Sea this week in part to ensure it can conduct flight operations from there if tensions escalate in the region due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a US official familiar with the carrier’s current task.  

The official did not disclose the exact location of the ship, but noted it is not routine to operate in the Aegean’s northernmost waters. The area is relatively confined for carrier operations due to the number of small islands and heavy commercial maritime traffic.

“In the event of further escalation,” the Navy could be told to project more fighter jet air patrols into the Black Sea, the official said. “If Russia sought to run the Turkish strait and Turkey asked for NATO support,” then the carrier aircraft could be used for combat air patrols over the Black Sea and Strait of Dardanelles, according to the official. 

Turkey administers passage permission to transit into the Black Sea for warships, and there is concern about Russia’s future plans there. US fighter aircraft often conduct air patrols for deterrence, and it would not necessarily signal the US is entering conflict. 

The Truman’s fighter jets are currently flying over Romania as part of the NATO mission to demonstrate presence and resolve against Russian aggression.

The carrier is accompanied by the cruiser USS San Jacinto in the North Aegean. Five other US warships and a Norwegian surface combatant are further south in the Aegean.

This development comes as the Pentagon is also acknowledging it may have to reconsider and increase the long-term US military presence in Europe in the wake of Russia’s aggression.

Jordan announced that it will allow family members and relatives of Ukrainians residing in the country to enter Jordan without visas on “humanitarian grounds,” adding they will be issued temporary residency, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement on Saturday. 

The ministry said the move would be “part of measures that will be implemented through the ministry in coordination with the competent authorities.” 

It added that “it is continuing to cooperate with Jordanian embassies in Ankara and Moscow to conduct ‘intensive’ diplomatic contacts with all concerned parties and international organizations to push for providing safe corridors for Jordanians in the cities of Sumy and Kharkov,” adding that there are no Jordanians registered in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.

Jordan has said that it has so far evacuated 718 Jordanians at the border crossings between Ukraine and its neighboring countries, according to Jordan state-run News Agency Petra.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had a “productive discussion” with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on future steps to support Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. 

In a televised message on Saturday, Kuleba said he had just returned from the Ukrainian-Polish border, where he held talks with Blinken along the neutral zone before crossing into Ukraine in what Kuleba called a “symbol of support.”

“We had a productive discussion about the efficiency of the sanctions already imposed on Russia and the measures taken, but also more importantly about our future steps in supplying Ukraine with necessary weapons and in imposing additional sanctions on Russia,” Kuleba announced in English. 

He added that he was “confident” that Ukraine and the US will be implementing the outcome of the talks “in the coming days,” adding that the US will join up its efforts with its European allies. 

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Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met for about three hours Saturday with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to an Israeli official.

The unannounced meeting took place with the blessing of the US administration, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The Israeli official said that Bennett’s diplomatic push was also coordinated with Germany and France and added that the Israeli leader “is in ongoing dialogue with Ukraine.”

Bennett also spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday following his meeting with Putin.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel told CNN that Ukrainian leadership was informed in advance of Bennett’s meeting with Putin and had been supportive of it.

Following the conclusion of the Moscow meeting, Bennett is now en route to Berlin for a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Israeli official said.

Three days ago, Bennett held separate phone conversations with both Putin and Zelensky.

Zelensky has appealed to Israel to mediate efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

While Israel has condemned Russia’s invasion in comments by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Bennett himself has avoided direct criticism of Russia or Putin.

Israel has sought to maintain good relations with Russia in recent years so it can continue air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria – which Israel regards as critical to prevent the transfer of precision-guided missile technology to Hezbollah.

This is the latest on Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, which is in its 10th day:

Evacuation corridors suspended: Ukrainian authorities halted evacuations from the besieged city of Mariupol on Saturday, accusing Russian forces of breaching an agreement to pause fire and give civilians safe passage out.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said Saturday night it would resume its offensive in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

In a statement carried by Russian news agency TASS, the defense ministry said that “not a single civilian was able to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha along the announced security corridors.”

The defense ministry had said earlier on Saturday it would stop bombarding the cities, which have endured days of heavy, indiscriminate shelling. But just a few hours after the announcement to pause fire, a top regional official said Russia broke its agreement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said it “understands” that civilian evacuations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not go ahead on Saturday as planned.

Putin says sanctions are equal to war declaration: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the sanctions introduced on his country are “equivalent of a declaration of war.”

Putin also said on Saturday that he would consider countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participating in the conflict. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly pleaded with NATO and Western officials to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which the US and NATO have said they oppose. Zelensky asked US lawmakers over Zoom today to assist with the establishment of a no-fly zone and harsher Russian sanctions.

Ukrainian officials praise protests: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has tweeted video from two cities in Ukraine – Berdyansk and Kherson – showing protests against Russian occupation. CNN has confirmed there have been protests against Russian occupation in both cities Saturday, as well as at least one in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.  

New video posted to social media shows at least one man getting hit by gunfire during a protest against the Russian military in the small town of Novopskov in northeastern Ukraine. CNN has geolocated and confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate: As cities come under heavy shelling, some Ukrainian officials say people lack basic access to food, water and medication.

The US secretary of state visited a refugee center in Poland, where waves of people from Ukraine continued to come in from over the border. The UN estimates over 1.2 million refugees have fled since Feb. 24.

The Russian defense ministry said its forces have resumed their offensive in Mariupol and Volnovakha, where evacuation corridors had been arranged between Ukraine and Russia.

In a statement to Russian news agency TASS, the ministry said that “not a single civilian was able to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha along the announced security corridors.”

“The population of these cities is being held by nationalist formations as human shields. The nationalist battalions took advantage of the silence to regroup and strengthen their positions,” said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defense ministry.

“Due to the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to influence the nationalists or to extend the ceasefire, offensive operations have been resumed from 18:00 Moscow time,” Konashenkov said.

More background: The Russian defense ministry said earlier on Saturday it would stop bombarding Mariupol and Volnovakha, which have endured days of heavy, indiscriminate shelling.

Residents there have hunkered down in basements without power and with limited supplies of food and water, volunteers gathering information from the ground told CNN.

But just a few hours after the announcement to pause fire, a top Ukrainian regional official accused Russia of breaking its agreement and evacuations were ceased.

A Russian government plane heading from St. Petersburg to Washington, DC, will return Russian diplomats back to their country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday on her Telegram channel.

“This plane will return to their homeland [the] Russian diplomats, whom the US Government has declared persona non grata,” Zakharova added. No timeline was provided in Zakharova’s statement.

The US government approved a flight chartered by the Russian government to facilitate the departure of Russian United Nations Mission personnel who were expelled for abuse of their privileges of residence. This special exception was done in accordance with federal regulations to ensure Russian mission personnel and their families departed by the date we had instructed, a state department spokesperson said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taken hundreds of lives on the battlefield and in the Ukrainian cities under bombardment. But internationally, it’s also affecting everything from food security in Cairo to gas prices in California. It’s pushed to the fore major geopolitical shifts and changed the way some of the globe’s most prominent institutions work.

Here’s how the world has changed in the 10 days since war returned to Europe.

A shifting world order

The invasion of Ukraine didn’t usher in a new era of big power politics. It was the violent exclamation point confirming one of the most significant changes in the geopolitical world order since 9/11.

In the ensuing years, global terrorism consumed much of Western leaders’ attention. Al Qaeda and ISIS were the enemies that needed countering. The Kremlin was no longer viewed as the same threat it once was – so much so that, in 2012, President Barack Obama mocked then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney as out of touch for calling Russia the number-one geopolitical foe of the United States.

By that time, Putin had already shown he was keen to upend the post-Cold War order.

The former KGB intelligence officer took office in 2000 vowing to restore Russia’s former glory, sometimes through military force. As prime minister in 1999, he launched an offensive in the Russian republic of Chechnya against separatist guerrillas. In 2008, the Kremlin invaded Georgia and recognized two breakaway republics in the country, which at the time was growing closer to Europe.

Later, Putin’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — ostensibly as an ally in the war on terror — earned him no favors with Western democracies, not least because of the credible reports of the Syrian dictator’s decision to attack his own people with chemical weapons. Putin’s decision to annex Crimea in 2014 and back separatists in eastern Ukraine led to sanctions and were roundly condemned. So too were Russia’s alleged attempts to assassinate its enemies on foreign soil.

But Putin remained an important player and partner, albeit an unsavory one, for leaders from Washington to Warsaw during the 2010s. Russia was important factor in the fight against ISIS; Europe’s main energy supplier; and helped negotiate major diplomatic pacts like the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Last week’s invasion may have ended that. After a quarter century of the Western world dealing with Putin, he may have finally pushed the envelope and become a pariah.

In response, the Western world has hit Russia with unprecedented sanctions that have crippled its financial institutions, sending its economy and the ruble into a tailspin, and even targeted Putin and some of his inner circle personally.

“Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been,” US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday in his State of the Union address.

Read more from the full article:

TOPSHOT - Ukainian service men take cover from shelling in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiev, on March 4, 2022. - The UN Human Rights Council on March 4, 2022, overwhelmingly voted to create a top-level investigation into violations committed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, United Nations figures showed on March 4, 2022. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Four ways the world has changed since Russia invaded Ukraine

New video posted to social media shows at least one man getting hit by gunfire during a protest against the Russian military in the small town of Novopskov in northeastern Ukraine.

CNN has geolocated and confirmed the authenticity of the video.

“People tried to stop the Russians, but they opened fire on the unarmed people. There are three wounded, they are in hospital,” according to Sergiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional administration.

CNN cannot confirm the reported casualty figures.

The video from Saturday showed a crowd walking up a street carrying Ukrainian flags and chanting “Ukraine.” A man in front of the crowd walked toward troops before shots rang out. He fell to the ground, apparently wounded in the leg.

“Everybody must leave the area now,” a voice is heard saying in the distance.

A photograph from the scene showed a man with a bloodied leg being carried away; it appears to be the same individual.

A few sporadic shots rang out, and then a barrage of small arms fire followed as the crowd scatters. It’s unclear whether the gunfire is being directed at or above the crowd.

Additional videos from the scene show that prior to the man being shot, the Russian military was firing their guns — not hitting the protesters — and giving apparent warning shots. 

One of the videos, taken before the protester was hit, showed the crowd walking forward toward the Russian troops, who have set up camp in an open-air market, surrounded by grocery stores and shop in the center of town. 

Despite the gunshots, the crowd did not move.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Korczowa Refugee Reception Center in Poland today with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau to meet with Ukrainians who have recently fled their country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to reporters traveling with Blinken, waves of Ukrainian refugees walked across the border into Poland as Blinken was there. They each dragged one or two bags behind them, with young children with backpacks holding hands with adults and infants being carried while they slept. Polish soldiers escorting them carried babies for their tired parents, helped the elderly and carried bags. 

They could be seen walking into processing tents as they made their way into Poland, according to the pool producer.

Blinken, who traveled to Poland today from a stop in Brussels, spoke earlier in the day about the role Poland is playing responding to the crisis.

“Poland is also a leading responder to the humanitarian crisis that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked. As Zbigniew just said, as of today, more than 700,000 people have been forced to flee the violence perpetrated by Russia by crossing the border from Ukraine to Poland, with more coming every single day,” Blinken said during an appearance with Rau earlier today after his arrival in Poland. 

“I’m going to have the opportunity to speak to some of the folks who’ve come over just recently from Ukraine, but I have to say it’s an incredibly powerful reflection of Poland’s values that vulnerable people know that here, they will find refuge,” he said.

Blinken also met with members of Ukrainian civil society during his visit to Poland, where he praised and thanked them for the work they were doing.

“One of the things that Vladimir Putin is trying to tear apart is the brave work that you are doing. I think that’s in a sense not a coincidence because to the extent Ukraine is a successful, strong democracy, with a strong civil society at its core, stands in very stark juxtaposition the society and system that President Putin has constructed in Russia,” Blinken said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the sanctions introduced on his country are “equivalent of a declaration of war.”

Putin also said there are not planning on a state of emergency in Russia or enlisiting conscripts for the “operation” in Ukraine. 

“We could have taken a different course of action,” he said. “We could have helped the republics of Donbas at the contact line and reinforced them with the Russian army, but in this case, and I mean with the unwavering support from the west, we would have radicals on the other side coming endlessly… with support from the west.”

“Our General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, went the other way; the first thing they did was to destroy the entire military infrastructure [of Ukraine], well, not all of it, but partially, mostly. Warehouses with weapons, ammunition, aviation, air defense systems,” he said.

Putin said they have almost completed the destruction of the Ukrainian air defense systems.

CNN cannot independently confirm Putin’s claims.

“Hence the demand to close the sky, but the implementation of this demand is associated with colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe, but for the whole world,” he said.

“The current [Ukrainian] leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they put under question the future of Ukrainian statehood. And if that happens, it will be entirely on their conscience,” Putin added.  

Ukrainians under heavy bombardment for a week in the northwest outskirts of Kyiv finally were able to flee, CNN’s Clarissa Ward reported from the entrance to the city of Irpin.

A bridge was destroyed by Ukrainian forces to prevent Russian forces from moving on central Kyiv, she reported.

“We’re seeing a lot of people who are clearly, visibly shaken, petrified because they have been trapped in terrible bombardment for days on end and are just now starting to get out,” Ward said.

She said there has been the sound of constant artillery in the background.

“A lot of people are not leaving their homes yet. A lot of people can’t get their head around the idea of simply deserting their lives, their families, their homes, their pets, their houses, everything they’ve worked so hard for. And so, it’s extraordinary to see what a high threshold many Ukrainians have. It takes a lot before they’re willing to leave their homes. These people have been under bombardment for seven straight days and are only just leaving their homes. And they’re leaving them reluctantly, and they’re leaving them with the knowledge that they might not be able to go back to them,” she said.

People with pets and other belongings, including many elderly Ukrainians, made their way through twisted metal.

Ward paused reporting for a few seconds to assist an elderly man who was struggling to walk and to help a woman carry her bag.

Watch here:

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) “understands” that civilian evacuations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not go ahead on Saturday as planned, after operations were postponed by Ukrainian authorities citing continued Russian shelling in the area. 

“We understand that the safe passage operations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not start today,” the ICRC said in a statement posted on Twitter. 

“We remain in dialogue with the parties about the safe passage of civilians from different cities affected by the conflict,” the statement added. 

Russia was accused earlier Saturday of “violating” an agreement on two evacuation corridors from Mariupol and Volnovakha as shelling continued, said Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories.

The US State Department has once again urged Americans not to travel to Russia on Saturday, citing the “unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” and “the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials.”

The alert comes after the department told Americans in Russia earlier this week in a similar alert to considering “immediately” departing the country while there are still commercial flights leaving the country. The security alert on Monday reiterated those warnings.

Editor’s note: Photos may be deemed upsetting to readers

Marina Yatsko, along with her boyfriend, Fedor, rushed to the hospital Friday after her 18-month-old son, Kirill, was wounded in a shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka captured the scene as medical workers frantically tried to save the boy’s life. He didn’t survive.

The key city of Mariupol is under siege by Russian forces determined to tighten their grip on Ukraine. On Saturday, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of shelling the city and civilian corridors out of it, despite Russia’s own agreement to hold fire. Western officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy with increasing attacks on civilians and residential areas.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau vehemently stated his country’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying that Poland will “never recognize territorial changes” brought on by Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“Poland will never recognize territorial changes brought on by unlawful, unprovoked aggression the way in which Russia conducts hostilities based on the desire to break the will of Ukrainian resistance by means of attacks that terrorize the civilian population. Shelling residential areas, nuclear power plants … are war crimes under international law which are not subject to [the] statute of limitations and will be persecuted with utmost determination,” Rau said after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rzeszow, Poland.

Speaking to the press, Blinken and Rau confirmed their unified approach in assisting refugees and standing against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Rau reiterated his country’s support to the people of Ukraine, adding the importance of an evacuation corridor “that would facilitate the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens.” 

Responding to Rau, Blinken reaffirmed his country’s commitment toward the people of Ukraine and thanked Poland for its work in housing the many refugees from Ukraine.

“As allies and partners, Poland and the United States have stood together in many many challenges, now the great ideals that bind us - freedom, democracy, peace, security are under threat in this region as never before, certainly not since the 2nd world war,” Blinken added.

Blinken also touched upon the United States’ efforts to assist “vulnerable” populations within Ukraine but also in neighboring countries, saying, “to help refugees in Poland, the Biden administration just requested from Congress $2.75 billion dollars in humanitarian assistance that is both to meet the needs of vulnerable communities and people inside of Ukraine as well as support refugee services here in Poland.” 

The growing exhaustion of staffers confined for “10 days” at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is not only “difficult,” but could pose “a danger to the world,” Yuriy Fomichev, the mayor of Slavutych, told CNN in a telephone interview on Saturday.

“People are tired; they are exhausted, both mentally and emotionally, but mainly physically,” Fomichev said, adding that more than 100 people in the plant are shift personnel who should have been handed over after 12 hours.

“A nuclear facility run by the same shift of 100 people without a break for 10 days in a row means their concentration levels are too low … the main thing we want to convey is that it is very dangerous,” Fomichev said.

Staffers in the plant only eat one meal per day and have limited amount of time to contact their families, Fomichev said. 

Slavutych, a city in northern Ukraine, was purposefully built in 1986 to house evacuated personnel from the Chernobyl power plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

CNN’s Irina Morgan in London contributed to this report.

Mike Pence, the vice president under former US President Donald Trump, on Friday condemned “apologists” in his own Republican party who have used positive language to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin. There is only room for champions of freedom,” Pence said, according to a source who was in the room where Pence spoke to top Republican donors at a retreat in New Orleans. The line received applause from donors, the source said. The event was closed to the press.

Pence’s speech came just days after Trump described Putin as “genius” and “savvy” for launching a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, where civilian casualties continue to pile up despite global condemnation of the Russian leader’s actions.

According to his prepared remarks, which the source said he did not deviate from Friday, Pence called on the Biden administration to take stronger actions against Russia, including sanctions on the country’s oil exports.

“Putin only understands strength. As members of the party that won the Cold War, we must send a deafening message: Putin must stop or Putin must pay,” Pence said.

Read the story in full here.

The Indian government is speaking to officials in both Russia and Ukraine to press for a ceasefire after Indian students stuck in Ukraine appealed for evacuations, a government spokesperson said Saturday.

“We are strongly urging both sides to have a ceasefire; whether it will happen, when it will happen, is something we will see as it happens,” said Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, during a Saturday news conference. “But I hope it happens because that will be something useful and necessary for us, otherwise we are putting them at risk. … We will continue to press on this.”

At least 700 Indian students are stranded in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine, according to the ministry.

Bagchi said the other primary concern was transportation, as Sumy is about 30 miles from the Russian border and train lines are not operational.

Bagchi said buses or trucks would be a plausible option; however, the best route out would be determined by officials on ground. Meanwhile, Denis Alipov, the Russian ambassador to India, said Russia had responded to India’s request for help and arranged for “hundreds of buses.”

“We have created special groups that are ready to take the Indians to the territory of the Russian Federation and then transport them to India, but the catch is the fighting in these areas continues and where the Indians are, our forces are not,” Alipov said Saturday, adding that Indian diplomats were in Belgrade, Serbia, to coordinate action on ground.

Bagchi said that he understood the students’ feelings of being left behind but urged them to remain in shelters. Students have told CNN that the Indian embassy has not responded to their calls, but Bagchi said, “we are talking to the students directly both from the embassy and our control room here.”

“If there is a corridor, we will find a way to get them out,” he said. “If there is a pause in fighting, I assure you we will be able to pull them out.”

Bagchi said that all Indian citizens had left Kharkiv as far as the ministry was aware, but the embassy will take a fresh look to identify any citizens that remain.

Kherson’s Mayor Ihor Kolykhaiev told CNN “we don’t have more weapons to resist” Russian forces that surrounded the city.

“The people of Kherson are unarmed. We don’t have more weapons to resist, to put up an armed resistance,” he said to CNN’s John Berman.

“We don’t have the army in the city. The army has been defeated. The Ukrainian army had to retreat, so there are no arms. They’ve retreated towards Nikolaev,” he continued.

Kolykhaiev said the Russian troops will remain in control of Kherson unless and “until the Ukrainian army can advance on Kherson,” adding of Russian forces, that “they’re quite settled here.”

“Russian troops are everywhere,” he added.

Kolykhaiev told Berman that life goes on, but all city services are down.

He also made an appeal for humanitarian assistance, saying that “production, critical infrastructure has been suspended. The city is without power and without water.”

Kolykhaiev said there was no way of getting aid into the city because the only way to get aid in is via Crimea from the Russian side.

“So Russians want to send their humanitarian aid, but the people of Kherson are refusing it. Because they are patriots and they don’t want aid from Russians. They want aid from Ukrainians. So we are not receiving humanitarian aid at the moment,” he said.   

“We have a lot of people here in need,” he said. “We have cancer patients, children who need medication. This medication is not currently getting through to them.”

Kherson is a strategically important city on an inlet from the Black Sea with a population of nearly 300,000. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has tweeted video from two cities in Ukraine – Berdyansk and Kherson – showing protests against Russian occupation.

Kuleba said: “Courageous Kherson inspires Ukraine and the world! Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians protests Russian occupation in front of armed Russian soldiers. What a spirit.”

“Also in Berdyansk peaceful Ukrainians demonstrate that their city does not belong to Russian invaders. I admire the fearless spirit of my compatriots and call on everyone around the globe to support them!”

It is not clear when the videos were recorded.

CNN has confirmed there have been protests against Russian occupation in both cities Saturday, as well as at least one in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he would consider countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participating in the conflict. 

“We will immediately consider them as participants in a military conflict, and it doesn’t matter members of which organizations they are,” Putin said in a meeting with flight crewmembers of Russian national airlines. 

“It is impossible to do it, on the very territory of Ukraine, it’s possible only from the territory of some neighboring states. But any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict,” Putin added.

More background: President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly pleaded with NATO and Western officials to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. 

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that a no-fly zone is not an option being considered by the alliance.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the establishment of a no-fly zone in Ukraine by the United States and its NATO allies could lead to a “full-fledged war in Europe,” but added that Washington would continue to work with its allies to provide Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves from Russian aggression.

Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, will suspend all flights abroad from March 8 — except flights to Minsk, Belarus — Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Saturday. 

Passengers with return tickets to Russia will not be allowed on international flights from March 6 if the departing flight is scheduled from March 8 “to mitigate the risks of impossibility to use return flights to Russia,” according to the report.

It comes after the majority government-owned carrier’s ability to sell seats was crippled on Thursday after being removed from the global distribution system, marking the latest measure against Russia’s aviation industry after most of the western world closed airspace to Russian aircraft.

RIA Novosti cites “the occurrence of additional circumstances that impede the operation of flights” as the reason behind the temporary cancellations. 

Rossiya and Aurora airlines will also cancel international flights, the report added.

Staff members of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have reported “dire conditions” on Saturday in Mariupol, Ukraine.

In a statement issued Saturday, one staff member of MSF gave the following account:

“The situation is the same as in recent days. This night the shelling was harder and closer. We collected snow and rain water yesterday to have some utility water. We tried to get free water today but the queue was huge. We also wanted to get ‘social’ bread but it is not clear the schedule and the places of distribution. According to people, multiple grocery stores were destroyed by missiles and the remaining things were taken by people in desperate need. Still no power, water, heating and mobile connection. No one heard about any evacuation yet. Pharmacies are out of medicine.”

MSF said in the statement that people are now effectively trapped in Mariupol, where the war arrived so suddenly that many could not even flee.

MSF Director of Operations Christine Jamet on Saturday called for safe routes to allow civilians to flee from Mariupol, including MSF staff and their families. 

“Civilians must not be trapped in a war zone,” Jamet said, adding that “people seeking safety must be able to do so, without fear of violence”.

CNN’s Nada Bashir contributed reporting to this post.

Spain’s Inditex, the global fashion giant whose brands include Zara, announced Saturday it is “temporarily suspending” activity in its 502 stores in the Russian Federation, Inditex said in a statement. 

“Inditex reports that in the current circumstances it cannot guarantee the continuity of its operations and the commercial conditions in the Russian Federation,” the statement said, adding that the suspension also applies to the firm’s online sales there. 

Of the 502 stores, 86 are of the Zara brand, the company said, adding that Russia accounts for about 8.5% of the company’s pre-tax profits, as measured by EBIT. Inditex has more than 9,000 employees in the Russian Federation and is developing a “special support plan” for them, the statement said.  

Inditex sent its statement to Spain’s stock market regulator, known by its Spanish initials, CNMV, on Saturday.  

Inditex has eight brands that sell online globally, and also in some 7,000 stores in 96 countries, according to the firm’s website. 

More than 27,000 refugees have arrived in Germany from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, according to Germany’s interior ministry. 

Germany’s Federal Police has registered 27,491 refugees from Ukraine in Germany to date, an interior ministry spokesperson confirmed to CNN Saturday.

But the actual number of incoming refugees could be significantly higher, the ministry said.

“Since there are no border controls, the number of war refugees entering Germany may in fact already be much higher,” according to the interior ministry statement sent to CNN.

Here’s a look at the the number of people who’ve fled to countries bordering Ukraine:

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) says that a Russian plane was shot down at the edge of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, which has seen intense fighting for almost a week.

The plane crashed into a residential area, the SES said, adding that it was unknown if there were casualties. The crash caused fires in four private homes.

Local people were being evacuated after three 500-kilogram bombs were found, the SES said.

Authorities said 17 people were killed in the Chernihiv region over the 24 hours to 8 a.m. Saturday as a result of shelling. Another person died due to fire.

CNN cannot independently confirm the number of deaths.

According to the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, “during the day on March 4 and on the night of March 5, Russian aircraft systematically bombed Chernihiv, mostly residential areas.”

Germany’s armed forces (Bundeswehr) say ”an increasing number of reservists” are coming forward to offer support for the country’s military services following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

”Following the start of the war of aggression on Ukraine, an increasing number of reservists are contacting various departments of the Bundeswehr to offer their support,” the Bundeswehr website said Friday.

”Currently, a concrete requirement for the Bundeswehr is not yet foreseeable; on the other hand, the development of the situation is characterized by high dynamics,” the statement on the Bundeswehr website added. 

The Bundeswehr also said that communications channels have now been set up on its website for inquiries.

According to the Bundeswehr website, Germany introduced conscription in 1956 with men over the age of 18 expected to serve in the military for a year – although they could claim exemption due to moral obligations.

Germany scrapped compulsory military service in 2011 in a step that marked a historic change for the country’s post-World War II forces. Since 2011, Germany’s armed forces has relied on volunteers to fill its ranks. In the event of a national defense emergency, an automated reactivation of conscription takes place.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reignited a debate in Germany, however, about whether young men and women should be required to fight for their country.

A Ukrainian minister has accused Russian forces of shelling the city of Volnovakha in the eastern Donetsk region, where an evacuation corridor was due to allow civilians to escape fighting on Saturday.

“At 11:45 the Russian Federation began shelling the city of Volnovakha with heavy weapons,” said Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, in a video posted on Facebook. “As you know, we had a preliminary agreement that from 9:00 we will create two humanitarian corridors – Volnovakha and Mariupol.”

Vereshchuk said that fighting was also preventing the second corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol from operating.

“There is fighting taking place in the direction of Mariupol-Zaporizhzhia, near Pology-Orikhove, which prevents the movement of the column from Mariupol to Zaporozhzhia,” she said.

“We call on the Russian side to end the shelling, return the ceasefire and allow columns of the humanitarian corridor to form so that children, women and the elderly can leave the settlements.

“We also appeal to the Russian Federation to provide the opportunity to send humanitarian aid from the city of Dnipro and the city of Zaporizhzhia, especially those ones consisting of medicines and food.”

Read the story in full here.

More than 400 Nigerian citizens fleeing the war in Ukraine have returned home after being evacuated by the government, according to the West African country’s Diaspora Commission.

The first batch of returnees arrived in the capital Abuja early Friday from Romania, according to the government agency Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).

The second batch of evacuees arrived from Poland later Friday while the third batch landed in Abuja close to midnight Friday in a chartered flight from Hungary, NIDCOM said in a series of tweets.

NIDCOM stated Saturday that another flight provided by the Nigerian government had arrived in the Hungarian capital Budapest to evacuate more Nigerians.

Hundreds of international students, many of them Nigerians, remain trapped in their hostels in Sumy, in northeast Ukraine, surrounded by Russian troops and amid explosions and gunfire.

Nigeria’s foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama told CNN on Thursday that his office was aware of the plight of the stranded students, and that arrangements were being made for their evacuation.

Read more here:

Vivian Udenze and Nnamdi Chukwuemeka are among hundreds of international students trapped in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, as the war seems to be getting closer.

Related article 'Help us, we're stranded': International students say they're trapped in northeast Ukraine

The Haas Formula One team has terminated the contract of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and its title sponsor, Russian chemical giant Uralkali, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the team announced on Saturday.

“Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” the team said in a statement. “As with the rest of the Formula 1 community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.”

A replacement driver is expected to be named next week.

On Tuesday, the FIA said that Russian and Belarusian drivers could continue to race, but only under a neutral “FIA flag” and without displaying any Russian/Belarusian national symbols, colors or flags on their uniform, equipment and car “until further notice.” This ruling also extends to individual competitors and officials.

Mazepin tweeted that he was “very disappointed” that his contract had been terminated.

“To those who have tried to understand, my eternal thanks. I have treasured my time in F1 and genuinely hope we can all be together again in better times. I will have more to say in the coming days.”

CNN has reached out to the Haas team for comment.

Formula One terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter on Thursday, meaning Russia will no longer have a future race.

The 2022 Formula One season starts on March 20 in Bahrain.

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TOPSHOT - A 'Football Stands Together' message is displayed in Ukrainian colours ahead of the English League Cup final football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, north-west London on February 27, 2022. - Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich handed over control of Chelsea to trustees of its charitable foundation on Saturday as Premier League players showed their support for war-torn Ukraine. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Mariupol City Council has asked residents seeking to flee the fighting to return to shelters, as negotiations with Russia to ensure an evacuation corridor continue, a statement said.

“We ask all Mariupol residents to leave and to go the shelters. More information about the evacuation to come soon. At the moment, negotiations with the Russian Federation to establish a ceasefire regime and ensure a safe humanitarian corridor are underway.”

“The police will also inform the city residents with the help of loudspeakers,” the statement added.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s military announced it would pause its bombardment of the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to allow civilians to flee.

The United Kingdom has urged its nationals to consider leaving Russia if it is not essential they remain in the country.

“If your presence in Russia is not essential, we strongly advise that you consider leaving by remaining commercial routes,” the UK Foreign Office said Saturday in its updated travel advice.

On Monday, the UK Foreign Office advised its citizens against all travel to Russia due to a lack of available flight options and increased economic volatility.

Ukrainian authorities have put plans to evacuate civilians from the Mariupol region on hold, citing Russian violations of an agreed pause in hostilities.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the eastern Donetsk region, tweeted at 12:45 p.m. local time (5:45 a.m. ET) on his Twitter account “EVACUATION OF PEACEFUL POPULATION FROM MARIUPOL POSTPONED!”

A short time earlier, Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, said that Russian forces appeared to be making use of the halt in fighting that was agreed in order to allow the evacuation of civilians to move their own troops forward.

“Our military report that in the area of ​​the declared route [of the evacuation corridor] Russian troops are using the ceasefire and moving forward,” Vereshchuk said.

“I would like to address the Russian authorities and say the following: We have agreed about ceasefire through the Red Cross, using international conventions. There should be no advance of Russian troops. We use this channel to evacuate civilians – women, children, and also to deliver humanitarian goods to those who stayed – medicine and food.

“Therefore, I once again appeal to the Russian authorities to stop the advance of their troops, if this is happening – we are currently verifying this information – and to allow the evacuation of people.

“The whole world is watching this. I sincerely hope that such a first step, which I hope will end positively and people will get shelter, but not sit for weeks under the rubble, in basements without water, without communication and without food, will continue.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has again criticized NATO for refusing to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

“The arguments about murders, targeted bombing and rocket attacks on residential buildings, hospitals, maternity hospitals and kindergartens, and the destruction of one of the European nations are not sufficient in 21st century. Fine,” Reznikov said in a video message released Saturday.

Reznikov said that both Chernobyl, the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents, and Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhia are under Russian control. Russian forces attacked Zaporizhzhia earlier, damaging one of its reactors.

“All of those, who are now blocking the closure of the sky over Ukraine, should recall April 1986,” he said, referring to the Chernobyl disaster.

He added that targeting the Zaporizhzhia plant was no accident.

“These are purposeful actions. Russia has committed an act of nuclear terrorism. We were miraculously lucky, as the fire was liquidated. But tomorrow may not be so lucky.”

The US and International Atomic Energy Agency have said there are no signs of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzia plant, which fell to Russian forces Thursday night.

US officials have said that Russian forces are advancing towards another Ukrainian nuclear power complex. 

Reznikov urged Western governments: “Listen to your people. Yesterday’s Reuters/Ipsos poll made it clear that the outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is growing. About 74 percent of Americans, including the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats, said the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies should introduce a no-fly zone in Ukraine, the poll said.”

NATO and the United States have repeatedly turned down demands for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, despite repeated pleas by President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials since the Russian invasion began.

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Firefighters work on a fire on a building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on February 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said. - Russia's ground forces on Thursday crossed into Ukraine from several directions, Ukraine's border guard service said, hours after President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a major offensive. Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the frontier in several northern regions, as well as from the Kremlin-annexed peninsula of Crimea in the south, the agency said. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Saturday that Russian forces have “advanced in some directions” but that Ukrainian defenders are “countering and ousting the occupiers.”

“Obviously, the enemy has advanced in some directions, however, it controls only small areas. Our defenders are severely countering and ousting the occupiers,” he said in a statement, adding that because of the “slow-down of the offensive pace and resistance of the Ukrainians, Russia is changing tactics.”

“As of today, the Ukrainian sky is the most vulnerable,” he said. “The aggressor uses its aerial and missile potential comprehensively and actively. All types of aviation are bombing our cities, towns and civilian infrastructure, including critical infrastructure and dangerous infrastructure, among them – nuclear and hydro power plants.”

Reznikov said Russian forces were targeting residential apartment buildings, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. “The enemy is destroying churches and cathedrals. It is shelling railway stations with thousands of evacuating women and children,” he said.

“These are the tactics of frightened jackals,” he said. “I am confident that the enemy will pay for every life and for every tear.”

Reznikov said Mariupol, Volnovakha, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mykolayiv and Kherson are among the cities where currently the situation is “most complex,” adding: “We really hope that the humanitarian corridor will work and we will be able to evacuate civilians.”

Reznikov said the main efforts of the Russian forces continue to be focused on the encirclement of Kyiv and suppressing resistance in cities and towns. 

Some context: Russia routinely denies causing civilian casualties in Ukraine. International media and observers have extensively documented civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

Volunteers and emergency services are working at breakneck speed as they try to evacuate people from the besieged city of Volnovakha, after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced it would pause its bombardment there, as well as Mariupol, which are both in southeastern Ukraine.

“We’ve heard from my friend who lives there that there are so many people inside, under the buildings actually, under the destroyed buildings,” Denys Tsutsayev, one of the volunteers gathering information on the region, told CNN.

“There are problems with water, power. There are so many people without any heating and anything who were in Volnovakha for all these days,” said Tsutsayev.

“There is a very bad connection in the area, so it’s difficult to reach people.”

CNN received an account from Marina Gasanova, a resident of a village near Volnovakha, whose husband has been trying to evacuate people from the city in recent days.

Earlier this week, she wrote:

“The situation in the city is very scary. There is almost nothing left in the city, something comes in every minute from all sides, it is not clear what … and it is not clear from where it comes. Scary, crazy!”

“My husband said: ‘I drive in, there is a car standing there, I come back and forth, take people out, when I come again, the car is already on fire.’ There, every minute, every second, everyone is shooting. From all sides. It’s just impossible! There are corpses lying around, torn-off arms, torn-off legs.”

The evacuation of civilians from the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha is expected to begin at 11 a.m. local (4 a.m. ET) but “we are currently working on the details,” the head of the Ukrainian government Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kirilenko, said on his official Twitter account.

Russian officials said the country would pause its bombardment in the cities from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time (2 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET) Saturday, 

Kirilenko said that “it will be possible to leave by personal transport” during the pause, adding “a huge request to all drivers leaving the city to facilitate the evacuation of civilians.”

“Take people with you, fill the transport as much as possible. It is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to deviate from the route of the humanitarian corridor. There will be several stages of evacuation over several days so that all those wishing to leave can do so,” he said. 

“Therefore, I ask everyone to trust only the OFFICIAL information posted on this official page or the information that provides a direct link to it,” he said. “This is a matter of human safety! As soon as new information appears, I will notify you immediately.”

Evacuation corridors are being prepared in parts of Ukraine, said Mykhailo Podoliak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, on Saturday.

“In Mariupol and Volnovakha, humanitarian evacuation corridors are being prepared for opening, columns are being formed from those who are subject to evacuation. The parties temporarily ceased fire in the area of ​​the corridors,” Podoliak said on his official Twitter account.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it would stop bombarding Mariupol and Volnovakha to allow for civilians to safely flee their homes, adding, “Humanitarian corridors and exit routes have been agreed with the Ukrainian side.”

Attacks on civilians: Western officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy from military targets to civilians, with more attacks becoming focused on population centers.

And Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, as a senior Western intelligence official warned Moscow could “bombard cities into submission,” an escalation that could lead to higher numbers of civilian casualties.

Staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which was occupied by Russian forces after a fire broke out on Friday, say radiation levels in the region look normal.

“Currently, the ZNPP attending personnel monitor the condition of power units and control their operation,” Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said in a statement Saturday. 
“No changes in the radiation status in the Zaporizhzhia region have been detected, the gamma radiation background is within normal limits.”

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate also said the heating and hot water supply in the city of Enerhodar, where the plant is located, have been disrupted “due to a damage to the connecting heating main, which is a result of the fierce fighting between the defenders of ZNPP and the Russian occupiers.”

Repairs are underway but “the work is complicated by multiple damage to the heating main,” the regulatory body said. 

Fire at the plant: A blaze broke out on Friday after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials said. Fears rose as firefighters were initially unable to access the site.

The fighting eventually stopped, and emergency teams were able to put out the fire. Though staff at the plant are continuing their duties, the plant has been “occupied” by Russian forces, the regulatory body said Friday after the fire was contained.

Read more here:

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is on fire according to the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar, Dmytro Orlov.

Related article Ukrainian nuclear power plant attack condemned as Russian troops 'occupy' facility

Americans along with much of the Western world have been united in condemning Russia for invading Ukraine.

Now they might have to start putting their money where their mouth is as US lawmakers consider an embargo on Russian oil.

High inflation and rising energy prices amid the economy’s pandemic recovery were already making life more expensive.

Now, a little more than a week into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, California has become the first US state to have an average gas price above $5 per gallon.

Gas prices are surging nationwide. The national average record for gasoline – $4.11, set in 2008 – is within sight. That would be a huge jump from a year ago, when the national average price was $2.75 a gallon.

The average price of diesel is also skyrocketing, which will drive up transportation costs for businesses.

What Congress is doing: American lawmakers are pushing a bipartisan effort to end all imports of Russian oil and sanction Russia’s energy sector.

That the energy sector has so far been left mostly untouched speaks to the nature of the global energy supply. Russia was the world’s No. 2 oil producer last year, behind the US. A disruption in oil exports would drive up costs everywhere.

But politicians are willing to pay the price. “I’m all for that. Ban it,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week on Capitol Hill.

“I would gladly pay 10 cents more per gallon,” Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat, said at a Thursday press conference.

Read the full story here.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it would stop its bombardment of parts of Ukraine on Saturday, to allow for civilians to safely flee.

“Today, March 5, from 10 a.m. Moscow time, the Russian side declares a ceasefire regime and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha,” said the ministry in a statement. “Humanitarian corridors and exit routes have been agreed with the Ukrainian side.”

Attacks on civilians: Western officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy from military targets to civilians, with more attacks becoming focused on population centers. The new approach comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to get the quick victory he wanted, and the Russian military has faced a stiff and determined Ukrainian resistance across the country.

Some additional context: Ukrainian and Russian delegations held a second round of talks in Belarus on Thursday. A Ukrainian negotiator said afterward that it didn’t deliver the results that Ukraine needed – both sides had agreed on corridors for civilians to escape.

Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday that a third round of talks has been scheduled for this weekend.

Ukraine won its first gold medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games on Saturday, with Grygorii Vovchynskyi winning the para biathlon men’s sprint standing event – and dedicating his medal afterward to his home country.

“It’s very important for us in Ukraine. Today I represented my country. It’s a difficult time, I am worried and afraid,” he said after the race. “I was thinking before the race, I must try to do everything for Ukraine. I must think about war, about my country, about my people, about my President.’

“I love sport, but today I ran because I want life in Ukraine to move to the future,” he said. He added that when the war began, he “cried every day,” wondering what he could do.

Ukrainian athlete Liudmyla Liashenko also won silver in the women’s sprint standing event on Saturday.

“I am really glad that I finished and brought this medal to Ukraine,” she said, adding that her family was still in Ukraine.

“I’m trying to defend my country here. I’m trying to show my best results here to represent Ukraine here like our army does in Ukraine, like everyone who is in Ukraine now trying to defend our motherland.”

In a tweet Friday night, Elon Musk claimed foreign government officials had asked his satellite internet company Starlink “to block Russian news sources” following the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

“We will not do so unless at gunpoint,” Musk said in the tweet. “Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”

It’s unclear which governments Musk is referring to in the tweet, though he added it was not Ukraine. 

Amplifying propaganda: Russian news sources, such as RT, serve as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s global megaphone, misleading audiences and deflecting from the issues at hand. On Friday, Putin signed a censorship bill into law making it impossible for news organizations to accurately report the news in or from Russia.

Delivery to Ukraine: Musk sent a truckload of Starlink antennas — which can be used to connect to the company’s satellite-based internet service — to Ukraine this week, responding to a plea from the country’s vice prime minister amid fears that Ukrainians could lose internet access if Russia continues its attacks on communication infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video on his official Instagram account on Friday, saying he is still in the capital Kyiv and has not fled the country. 

“Every two days information comes out that I have fled somewhere — fled from Ukraine, from Kyiv, from my office. As you can see, I am here in my place, Andriy Borisovich (Yermak) is here. Nobody has fled anywhere. Here, we are working,” Zelensky said. 

“We like jogging, but now we don’t have time for that, for various cardio exercises,” he joked. “Working. Glory to Ukraine.”

When you turn on the heating in your home, you may not think much about where your energy comes from, let alone where the money you pay for it goes. For millions of people living in Europe, there’s a good chance that money is flowing to the Russian state — much of it into President Vladimir Putin’s war chest.

Russia has been building a network of natural gas pipelines throughout Europe since the 1960s. Washington has been warning its Western allies ever since that more Russian gas will only make Europeans more vulnerable to Moscow.ere are fears now that the Kremlin may turn off the supply of natural gas to the European Union, in retaliation for its support for Ukraine — Europe, among other allies, has been sending weapons and aid to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

It’s only been just over a week, but so far, Russia has let the gas flow. But that presents another problem.

Money into the war chest: Russia is earning hundreds of millions of dollars a day from its oil and gas exports, undermining the financial sanctions Western powers have introduced to choke off financing for Putin’s war effort.

The European Union, Russia’s biggest gas customer, is now grappling with the reality that its energy spending has helped empower Putin to carry out a bloody war on its borders.

According to the European think thank Bruegel, with prices at record highs, the value of Russian natural gas exports to the European Union has soared to about €500 million ($545 million) every day. That’s up from about €200 million ($220 million) in February. Before the invasion, Russia was also exporting oil worth hundreds of millions a day to Europe.

Read the full story.

As the war in Ukraine drags into its second week, a Western intelligence official has warned Russia could be looking to “bombard cities into submission,” potentially leading to high numbers of civilian casualties. Here’s the latest:

Alarm at nuclear plant: The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, where a top UN official called for cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog and for safe passage in Ukraine.

This comes after a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, caused by Russian shelling sparking fears of a potential nuclear incident. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze, despite being initially blocked by Russian troops. And radiation levels appear normal, Ukrainian and US officials say. Operations are now continuing at the plant, but it was “occupied” by Russian forces early Friday, said Ukrainian authorities.

Tensions at the UN: At the emergency meeting, the Russian ambassador to the UN claimed there were “lies about how Russian troops attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”

The Ukrainian ambassador pushed back, calling his Russian counterpart “a liar,” and said the plant sustained damage.

The US ambassador to the UN said the world had “narrowly averted” nuclear catastrophe on Friday, but warned that Russian troops are approaching Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility.

Airspace dispute: Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s pleas for NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, US Secretary of State Blinken and NATO’s chief Stoltenberg turned down the request.

They warned that the only way to implement a no-fly zone would be to “send NATO planes into Ukrainian airspace and to shoot down Russian planes, and that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe.”

Zelensky condemned NATO’s decision, saying it gave Russia the “green light” for further attacks of Ukrainian towns.

Military attacks on civilian areas: Videos show the extent of destruction in key Ukrainian cities after Russian military strikes. An apartment complex was hit in the northern city of Chernihiv, with walls blown apart and rubble everywhere.

Russian troops continue laying siege to Mariupol, a strategically important city on the southern coast, and Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city in the northeast. A standoff is ongoing in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Rising toll: The war has killed at least 331 civilians, the UN estimates, though the real toll could be far higher. More than 1.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24, with more than half entering Poland.  

Ukrainian authorities have released video from inside the control room at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which was taken over by Russian forces late Thursday. 

The video shows the inside of the control room as an announcement rings out on a PA system aimed at the Russian forces outside.

Here is what the announcement said:

“Stop shooting at a nuclear dangerous facility. Stop shooting immediately! You threaten the security of the whole world!”
“The work of the vital organs of the Zaporizhzhia station may be disrupted. It will be impossible for us to restore it.”
“You are endangering the security of the entire world. Attention! Stop shooting at a nuclear hazardous facility. Stop shooting at a nuclear hazardous facility!”
“Stop shooting at a nuclear hazardous facility! Attention! Stop it!”

More context: In a statement Friday morning local time, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRI) confirmed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian military forces, but said officials remained in contact with plant management.

The power plant’s six reactors remained intact, though the compartment auxiliary buildings for reactor unit 1 had been damaged, the SNRI said in its statement. Four of the remaining units were being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said.

Petro Kotin, head of Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom, later reported that management were operating at “gunpoint.” He said on Telegram that Russian forces “entered the territory of the nuclear power plant, took control of the personnel and management of the nuclear power plant.”

Kotin warned that although the reactors are safe, further attacks could lead to “disaster.”

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As of Thursday, more than 1.2 million refugees have left Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Of the 1,209,976 refugees who have fled, more than half crossed into Poland.

Others went to other neighboring countries including Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

More than a million left within just the first week, and many more are “on the move both inside and outside the country,” with many internally displaced families, according to UNHCR.

Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, as a senior Western intelligence official warned Moscow could “bombard cities into submission,” an escalation that could lead to significant civilian casualties.

The US has already seen “some indications” that Russian mercenaries may be involved in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “in some places,” a senior defense official said earlier this week, but it wasn’t clear exactly where or in what numbers.

“We’ve seen some indications that they’re being employed,” the official said.

Now, a US official tells CNN that Russia is planning to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries in the near future.

Stalled forces: Some Russian forces have struggled with morale issues and setbacks on the battlefield, including a massive convoy north of Kyiv that has remained largely stalled for the past several days.

The mercenary forces would fortify the flagging units, the official said, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second weekend.

The official added that the US believes the mercenaries already in Ukraine have “performed poorly when facing the stiffer-than-expected resistance from the Ukrainians,” and that as many as 200 such mercenaries have already been killed in the war as of late February.

Meanwhile, US and Western officials expect Russia to increase the pace and strength of its strikes on key Ukrainian population centers, including the capital Kyiv.

An intensifying assault: Russia now seems prepared to “bombard cities into submission,” one senior western intelligence official said on Friday, which could include a significant increase in the number of civilian casualties. 

“It’s a very crude approach,” the official said. “The heavier weapons are not just heavier in the weight, they’re also heavier in terms of the damage that they can inflict. And they’re far less discriminant.”

Other officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy from military targets to civilians, with more attacks becoming focused on population centers.

“The days to come are likely to be worse, with more death, more suffering, and more destruction, as the Russian armed forces bring in heavier weaponry and continue their attacks across the country,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the sentiment during a press conference in Brussels Friday where he is meeting with European allies.

“The Kremlin’s attacks are inflicting an ever-increasing toll on civilians there. Hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, many more wounded, as have citizens of other countries. More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. Millions of people across Ukraine are trapped in increasingly dire conditions as Russia destroys more critical infrastructure,” Blinken said.

The United States flew B-52 Stratofortress bombers over NATO’s eastern flank on Friday, exercising with the German and Romanian militaries in a sign of unity as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second weekend. 

The largest strategic bombers in the US Air Force took off from RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force station in England, and conducted close air support and integration mission training, according to a statement from US Air Forces in Europe.

The B-52s then flew to Romania, where they conducted more close air support training as part of the bomber task force (BTF) missions.

The flight over Romanian airspace put the bombers right on the edge of NATO countries, adjacent to Ukrainian air space, where the Russian air force is trying to establish air supremacy.

“BTF rotations give us a critical opportunity to integrate and train with our allies and partners, especially during this difficult time,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of United States Air Forces in Europe, Air Forces Africa, and NATO’s Allied Air Command.

Russian forces are approaching Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at the UN on Friday.

“Russian forces are now 20 miles, and closing, from Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility,” she said without naming the plant.

According to Energoatom, the overseeing body of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility — in terms of power generation capacity — is Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Station in the Mykolaiv Oblast, in southern Ukraine.

“President Putin must stop this humanitarian catastrophe by ending this war and ceasing these unconscionable attacks against the people of Ukraine,” the ambassador added.

Fire at nuclear plant: Thomas-Greenfield said the imminent danger continues after a disaster was “narrowly avoided” last night, referring to the fire that broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early Friday local time in Ukraine as a result of Russian forces shelling the facility.

“The international community must be unanimous in demanding Russia’s forces stop their dangerous assault. And as I’ve said before, the people of Ukraine are counting on us and we must not let them down,” she said.

Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “nuclear terror” after Russian troops attacked the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

At the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Beijing on Friday, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons called for peace in his speech – but a large part of his message was censored by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. 

“Tonight, I want to begin with a message of peace. As the leader of an organization with inclusion at its core, where diversity is celebrated and differences embraced, I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now,” Parsons said, likely in reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“The 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate,” he added. 

CCTV’s live commentary didn’t translate his description of the events taking place in the world, and most of the speech that followed. It also lowered the volume of Parsons’ speech on the broadcast and paused the sign language interpreters on screen.   

During the Opening Ceremony, Parsons was seen clapping as the 20 athletes competing for Ukraine were introduced. But the scene of Parsons cheering for the Ukraine delegation was also censored, replaced with a wide shot of the stadium by the state broadcaster. 

Some context: Earlier this week, the IPC banned Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing at the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

China has repeatedly refused to call Russia’s unprovoked military attack on Ukraine an “invasion,” instead calling for diplomacy and blaming the United States and NATO for “fueling fire” in the tensions.

This week, a Western intelligence report indicated that Chinese officials in early February requested that senior Russian officials wait until after the Beijing Olympics had finished before beginning an invasion into Ukraine. China responded that the report was “speculations without any basis, and are intended to blame-shift and smear China.”