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(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia’s economy and Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 01, 7:54 pm
Putin will ‘put Ukraine in a vice grip,’ US official says

Despite debate within the U.S. administration on whether Russia is suffering military setbacks in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official reiterated to ABC News that the invasion will be devastating for Ukraine.

“Putin is going to put Ukraine in a vice grip,” the official said, adding that Putin has ratcheted up his determination to carry on.

The dominant analysis within the administration involves Putin acting out with incredible ferocity and intent, believing this is his destiny, the official said.

The massive Russian convoy heading toward Ukraine is just as mighty as it looks from satellite imagery, the official added.

Taking out just half a dozen of those tanks would seriously slow down the convoy, because the roads are surrounded by mud in many places, so it would be difficult for the tanks to maneuver around the crippled vehicles, the official said.

President Joe Biden is under pressure to act, but the U.S. military is wary about any proposals that would bring American troops into open conflict with Russia. The U.S. military is also adamant that about avoiding anything that would trigger conflict, the official said.

-ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz

Mar 01, 7:51 pm
Biden to announce ban on Russian carriers from US airspace

President Joe Biden is expected to announce the U.S. will ban Russian carriers from its airspace in his State of the Union address, according to a person familiar with his remarks.

The U.S. now joins Canada and the European Union, which issued bans on Russian planes in their respective airspaces over the weekend.

-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson

Mar 01, 7:33 pm
ExxonMobil to stop Russian investments

Oil giant ExxonMobil announced Tuesday it will be ending current and future investments in Russia.

Specifically, it will cease operations at its Sakhalin-1 venture, which the company operates on behalf Japanese, Indian and Russian companies.

“As operator of Sakhalin-1, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of people, protection of the environment and integrity of operations. Our role as operator goes beyond an equity investment,” the company said in a statement.

ExxonMobil said its stoppage of investments in Sakhalin-1 will “need to be carefully managed and closely coordinated with the co-venturers.”

The company added that it wouldn’t invest in future developments in Russia.

Mar 01, 5:50 pm
Jewish groups condemn attack on Ukrainian Holocaust memorial

Several Jewish groups condemned Russia for a missile attack that struck a Ukrainian Holocaust memorial.

The missiles struck the site of the Babyn Yar massacre where 33,000 Jewish men, women and children were killed in September 1941.

The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum in Poland tweeted, “It’s hard to expect the Russian army to respect the dead if it is not capable of respecting human lives.”

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the site last year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the event.

“We stand with him and the Ukrainian people during these critical times,” the museum said in a statement.

Israel’s Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, called on the international community to protect sites such as Babyn Yar as well as the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

“Rather than being subjected to blatant violence, sacred sites like Babi Yar must be protected,” Yad Vashem said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

Mar 01, 4:14 pm
Apple pauses sales in Russia

Apple is taking “a number” of actions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including pausing product sales in Russia, stopping exports into the country and limiting Apple Pay there, according to a statement from the tech giant on Tuesday.

In addition, RT, Russia’s state-run news network, and Sputnik have been removed from the AppStore outside of Russia.

Apple has also disabled traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine for safety of Ukrainian citizens.

“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” Apple said in the statement. “We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.”

-ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki

Mar 01, 3:04 pm
UK imposes sanctions on Belarus for its role in invasion

The United Kingdom is imposing sanctions on Belarus in response to the role the country is playing in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including facilitating the invasion from within its borders.

Four senior defense officials have been sanctioned, leaving them unable to travel to the U.K. and freeing any of their U.K.-based assets. Also sanctioned are a Belarusian aircraft repair plant and a military semiconductor manufacturer.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “We are inflicting economic pain on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and those closest to him. … The [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin.”

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 01, 3:14 pm
UK imposes sanctions on Belarus for its role in invasion

The United Kingdom is imposing sanctions on Belarus in response to the role the country is playing in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including facilitating the invasion from within its borders.

Four senior defense officials have been sanctioned, leaving them unable to travel to the U.K. and freeing any of their U.K.-based assets. Also sanctioned are a Belarusian aircraft repair plant and a military semiconductor manufacturer.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “We are inflicting economic pain on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and those closest to him. … The [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin.”

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 01, 3:10 pm
Russian missile hits Kyiv TV tower killing at least 5

The tower that provides the main signal to TV and radio in Kyiv has been struck by a Russian missile, leaving at least five dead, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the tower “is situated on the territory of Babyn Yar. On September 29-30, 1941, Nazis killed over 33 thousand Jews here. 80 years later, Russian Nazis strike this same land to exterminate Ukrainians. Evil and barbaric.”

Ukraine’s President President Volodymr Zelenskyy tweeted, “What is the point of saying «never again» for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating.”

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 01, 1:51 pm
Russians running out of food, gas: US official

The Russian forces charging toward Kyiv haven’t made progress in the last day as they face Ukrainian resistance and low food and gas supply, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday.

However, it could be a deliberate pause, the official said. “Part of the stall could be … as a result of their own self-determined sort of pause in operations — that they are possibly regrouping, rethinking, reevaluating,” the official said.

The U.S. believes Russian forces “have committed now more than 80% of what was their pre-staged combat power,” the official added.

The official said some Russian soldiers weren’t told they were going into combat. The official said “not all of them were apparently fully trained and prepared.”

The strong Ukrainian resistance has also hurt morale, according to the official.

Russia has now launched more than 400 missiles on Ukraine, the official said. The U.S. believes Russia has launchers that could be used for thermobaric weapons, but cannot confirm their use, the official said.

Russian forces are making the most progress in the south. Russians are attacking Kherson in south Ukraine, which “appears very much to be contested city at this point,” the official said.

Russians are also approaching Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, and while they haven’t yet entered the city, “they are close enough now that they could attack Mariupol with long range fires,” the official said.

Two towns on the path to Mariupol are believed to be occupied by the Russians, according to the official.

The U.S. believes the Russians hope to move north out of Mariupol up to the heavily-contested city of Kharkiv. The official said they believe Russian forces are trying to encircle Kharkiv.

The U.S. official noted that they’ve seen “certain risk-averse behavior by the Russian military” over the last week.

“Take the amphibious assault, for instance. They put those troops ashore a good 70 kilometers away from Mariupol because they knew Mariupol was going to be defended and they could put them ashore in an uncontested environment. And they still haven’t reached Mariupol,” the official said.

“They are not necessarily willing to take high risks with their own aircraft and their own pilots,” the official said.

“And of course we’re seeing that on the ground — the fairly slow and steady progress that they have made, and you guys are seeing it for yourselves on the ground where … units are surrendering, sometimes without a fight.”

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Mar 01, 11:43 am

 

136 civilian deaths reported

 

A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said 136 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 13 children.

Mar 01, 11:14 am
US, allies agree to release of 60 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves

The 31 countries on the International Energy Agency’s Governing Board have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their 1.5 billion barrels of emergency reserves “to send a unified and strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall in supplies as a result of Russia’s invasion,” the IEA said in a statement.

Russia is the biggest oil exporter on the globe and the third-largest producer, the IEA said.

Mar 01, 10:57 am
677,000 people have fled Ukraine

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the number of Ukrainians who’ve fled their country has climbed to 677,000.

Mar 01, 10:16 am
Western officials walk out during Lavrov remarks

Diplomats from Western countries were seen on video walking out in protest as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the U.N. Human Rights Council and Conference on Disarmament.

The meeting was held Tuesday in Geneva and Lavrov gave his address via video.

The Human Rights Council has faced criticism for years for including human rights abusers, including Russia. In a prerecorded video to the council, Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned whether Russia should be allowed to keep its seat.

“One can reasonably ask whether a U.N. member state that tries to take over another U.N. member state — while committing horrific human rights abuses and causing massive humanitarian suffering — should be allowed to remain on this council,” he said.

Blinken accused Russia of hitting civilian targets like schools, hospitals, residential buildings, critical infrastructure, and cars, buses, and ambulances — including the “monstrous rocket strikes” on an apartment complex in Kharkiv.

“Reports of Russia’s human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law mount by the hour,” he said.

“These are the human rights abuses this council was created to stop. If we cannot come together now, when will we come together?” he asked.

-ABC News’ Fergal Gallagher, Conor Finnegan

Mar 01, 9:43 am
‘Growing number’ of unaccompanied and separated refugee children

Filippo Grandi, U.N. high commissioner for refugees, told the Security Council Monday there’s “a growing number of unaccompanied and separated children” in the unending lines of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

UNICEF said there are “anecdotal reports of heartbreaking stories of fathers — or families — arriving at the border with their children and relinquishing them to the border guards, then remaining in Ukraine.”

UNICEF said it doesn’t have numbers yet on unaccompanied or separated children.

Mar 01, 9:23 am
Six killed in attack on Kharkiv civilian building

A rocket attack on an administrative building in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has killed at least six people and injured another seven, Ukrainian officials said.

An Indian student was among those killed, according to the Indian government.

A senior administration official told ABC News the U.S. has learned that Russia continues to plan for a “devastating” attack on Ukraine, warning that “the Russians … will crush Ukraine.”

Mar 01, 7:40 am
YouTube blocks RT, Sputnik in Europe

Google on Tuesday said it had blocked RT and Sputnik, Russian state-linked channels, from YouTube in Europe.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) March 1, 2022

“Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action,” the company said.

Mar 01, 6:39 am
Zelenskyy calls Russian attack ‘undisguised terror’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said the Russian attack on Kharkiv’s main square was an act of “undisguised terror.”

“After that, Russia is a terrorist state. No one will forgive. Nobody will forget,” he said on Facebook.

Mar 01, 6:22 am
About 660,000 refugees have fled Ukraine: UN

At least 660,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in the six days since the Russian invasion began, the U.N. Refugees Agency said.

At the Polish border, UNHCR staff reported queues that were miles long.

“Those who crossed the border said that they had been waiting up to 60 hours,” the agency said on Tuesday. “Most arrivals are women and children from all parts of Ukraine. Temperatures are freezing and many have reported spending days on the road waiting to cross.”

Agency staff said people were waiting up to 20 hours to enter Romania. In Hungary, arrivals were “steady and waiting times vary.” The 37-mile trip between Odessa, Ukraine, and the border with Moldova was taking some refugees 24 hours, the agency said. And arrivals in Slovakia, where asylum laws were rapidly changed, were lower than elsewhere, agency staff said.

An unknown number of Ukrainian citizens have also been displaced within the country, Filippo Grandi, the agency’s commissioner, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

“The situation is moving so quickly, and the levels of risk are so high by now, that it is impossible for humanitarians to distribute systematically the aid, the help that Ukrainians desperately need,” he said.

The International Organisation for Migration said more than 470,000 people of various nationalities, “including a large number of overseas students and labour migrants,” are still in Ukraine.

Mar 01, 4:11 am
Russian bombardment strikes central square in Kharkiv

Russia on Tuesday launched a major bombardment of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hitting a central square and its civilian administration building.

Video from the scene shows a large projective hitting next to the regional state administration building on Kharkiv’s Freedom Square, causing a huge blast. Aftermath shot on phones from the scene and inside the building, show it shattered with debris strewn around.

Ukraine’s emergency services ministry said at least six people, including one child were injured. It was unclear if anyone was killed.

Kharkiv Mayor Oleg Sinegubov confirmed the strike, calling it a “war crime.”

Monday’s shelling followed a sustained bombardment of civilian areas yesterday and overnight in Kharkiv by Russian heavy artillery, including multiple rocket launchers and an alleged use of cluster munitions.

“What is happening in Kharkiv is a war crime!” Sinegubov wrote on Facebook. “The Russian enemy is shelling whole residential neighborhoods of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, no Ukrainian armed forces positions, which the Russians could be targeting.”

Sinegubov accused Russia of conducting the attacks during the day, when civilians were on the street. He said the city’s emergency services are unable to keep up with the number of attacks and injured.

So far at least 11 are dead, with dozens injured, he said.

Russian forces in Kharkiv appear to have shifted tactics to employing heavy artillery indiscriminately against the city, in an apparent effort to bombard and terrorize it into submission.

Sinegubov claimed the Russians were changing tactics because their offensive capabilities on the ground were running out and so they had nothing left but to launch aerial bombardments.

Mar 01, 3:28 am
‘Leave Kyiv urgently today,’ Indian Embassy tells citizens

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged Indians still in the capital to “leave Kyiv urgently today.”

“All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today,” the embassy said on Twitter. “Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.”

Mar 01, 2:48 am
’We will fight until the end,’ says Ukrainian parliament member

Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, on Monday said Ukrainians would “fight to the end” as they defend Kyiv from a Russian invasion.

“That’s the mood of Ukrainians. We are staying behind altogether, and we do understand that with the total second line staying behind their shoulders. And I think we will fight until the end,” Bobrovska told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.

Mar 01, 12:14 am
Russian troops ‘operational’ near Ukrainian nuclear power plant, agency says

Ukraine said its nuclear power plants are still being operated “safely and securely,” the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in an update late Monday.

However, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he “remained gravely concerned about maintaining their safety and security during the current conflict.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry told the IAEA on Monday that Russian troops are “operational” near a functioning nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, but the troops haven’t entered it so far. Any fighting near nuclear facilities causes alarm, and Ukraine has four sites in total with 15 reactors.

“It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way,” Grossi said in a statement. “An accident involving the nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have severe consequences for public health and the environment.”

The IAEA Board of Governors will hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the “safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Prince William and Kate, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, went on a royal walkabout in Wales on St. David’s Day — a day to celebrate the patron saint of Wales.

On Tuesday, the couple visited Abergavenny and Blaenavon to learn about the importance of the agricultural industry to rural populations and how community organizations are providing support to young people while also celebrating the history of the region.

They kicked things off at Pant Farm, where they met with local businesses and a family-run farm. A video taken from their visit shows the duke and duchess petting goats.

📍 Pant Farm, Wales 

Seeing first-hand the benefits that local businesses receive through their communities at this lovely family-run farm, promoting local produce and sustainable practices. pic.twitter.com/Rt6WGPCImD

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 1, 2022

William and Kate then continued their visit with a trip to Abergavenny Market, where they met with people selling locally grown produce.

The importance of community for local business is so vital as we met and heard from third, fourth and even fifth generations of family businesses welcoming customers. pic.twitter.com/OsPGG5CMEF

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 1, 2022

Wales is special to the royal couple, as it’s where they first lived as newlyweds. After their 2011 wedding, they rented a farmhouse in Anglesey.

Their visit comes as Queen Elizabeth is on the mend after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported that the queen is feeling better and met with Prince William, Kate and their children. She also met with her other grandchild, Princess Beatrice and Beatrice’s baby daughter, Sienna.

The queen made her first virtual appearance since her diagnosis from Windsor Castle on Tuesday while meeting with Andorra ambassador Carles Jordana Madero and Chad ambassador Kedella Younous Hamidi.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer to the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Mar 02, 5:55 am
Putin’s fiercest critic Navalny calls for daily anti-war protests

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is urging people in Russia and around the world to stage daily protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We — Russia — want to be a nation of peace. Alas, few people would call us that now,” Navalny said Wednesday in a series of posts on Twitter via his spokesperson. “But let’s at least not become a nation of frightened silent people. Of cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar.”

“They say that someone who cannot attend a rally and does not risk being arrested for it cannot call for it. I’m already in prison, so I think I can,” he tweeted. “We cannot wait any longer. Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday and at 2 pm on weekends and holidays.”

“Yes, maybe only a few people will take to the streets on the first day. And in the second — even less,” he added. “But we must, gritting our teeth and overcoming fear, come out and demand an end to the war. Each arrested person must be replaced by two newcomers.”

Navalny called on people to not just “be against the war” but to “fight against the war.”

“If in order to stop the war we have to fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves, we will fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves,” he tweeted. “Everything has a price, and now, in the spring of 2022, we must pay this price. There’s no one to do it for us.”

Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, was imprisoned last year when he returned to Russia from Germany after recovering from an attempted assassination with nerve agent poisoning in Siberia. Russia has denied carrying out such an attack.

Mar 02, 5:19 am
‘You can’t stay neutral right now,’ Zelenskyy warns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Wednesday that the international community “can’t stay neutral,” as the Russian invasion entered its seventh day.

“Neutral Switzerland has supported EU sanctions against Russian oligarchs, officials, the state, and companies. Once again – neutral Switzerland. So why do other countries wait?” Zelenskyy said in a televised address. “Our anti-war coalition has already been joined by those countries that Moscow was counting on a week ago. This is an extraordinary result. You can’t stay neutral right now.”

“We are in our homeland and there will be an international tribunal for waging the war against us,” he added.

Zelenskyy also praised his fellow Ukrainians for being “united.”

“During this time, we have truly become one,” he said. “Today you, Ukrainians, are a symbol of invincibility. A symbol that people in any country can become the best people on Earth at any moment.”

Mar 02, 4:37 am
Russia claims to have captured Ukrainian port city

Russia claimed Wednesday to have captured Ukraine’s southern port city of Kherson, the largest Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces since the start of the invasion.

“Russian forces have taken full control of the Kherson regional center,” Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press briefing Wednesday.

Russia-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have also seized several cities and towns, advancing nearly 100 miles since launching the offensive, according to Konashenkov.

“Ukrainian servicemen will go home as soon as they make a written pledge not to take part in the hostilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have “disabled” the instrument room of the the main television tower in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “putting an end to information attacks on Russia,” according to Konashenkov, who noted that “no damage was done to residential buildings in the course of the strike.”

Konashenkov also claimed that Russian aircraft had delivered a “massive strike” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure on Wednesday.

“Sixty-seven sites have been hit,” he added. “In all, 1,502 elements of Ukrainian military infrastructure have been disabled in the course of the operation. These include 51 command and communications centers belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 38 S-300, Buk M-1 and Osa air defense missile systems and 51 radar stations.”

Mar 01, 10:59 pm
Boeing suspends all plane maintenance support for Russian airlines

The Boeing Company has suspended all parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines as the conflict continues, the company announced Tuesday.

This is expected to have a significant impact on Russian carriers, as planes need constant maintenance.

“We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv,” Boeing said in a statement. “We are also suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region.”

Mar 01, 10:56 pm
GOP points at Biden for Russian invasion in State of the Union response

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds implied Russia’s attack on Ukraine is connected to a lack of leadership from President Joe Biden in the Republican response to the State of the Union address, saying Biden has “sent us back in time” to the 1970s and ’80s, when the “Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map.”

Reynolds said Biden has failed on his promise to make America respected around the world once more and criticized Biden for the lead-up to the invasion, including waving sanctions against Russia and “focusing on political correctness.”

“Weakness on the world stage has a cost,” Reynolds said. “… We can’t project strength abroad if we’re weak home.”

Mar 01, 10:17 pm
‘Free world is holding Putin accountable,’ Biden says in SOTU address

In his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden began by discussing the war in Eastern Europe and condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden invoked the strength of the Ukrainian people amid the attack, lauding the civilians who took up arms to defend their country and highlighting the work Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova has done on behalf of her people.

“She’s bright. She’s strong, and she’s resolved,” Biden said as first lady Jill Biden hugged Markarova.

Many lawmakers in attendance showed their support for Ukraine by wearing color-coordinated outfits and lapel pins in blue and yellow.

Biden described the invasion as “premeditated and totally unprovoked,” vowing, alongside NATO allies, to hold Putin accountable with sanctions on the Russian economy and Putin and the oligarchs themselves.

“When dictators do not pay a price for their aggressions, they cause more chaos,” Biden said. “They keep moving.”

Biden announced that American airspace would be closed to all Russian flights and pledged $1 billion in direct assistance to help “ease suffering” in Ukraine.

The president also “made clear” that while American forces would not go fight in Ukraine, he has mobilized the military to protect NATO countries.

“The United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power,” he said.

Mar 01, 9:45 pm
Biden announces ban on Russian flights in US airspace

President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address announced the U.S. will ban Russian flights from its airspace, joining Canada and the European Union, which issued bans on Russian planes in their respective airspaces over the weekend.

“Tonight I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights — further isolating Russia — and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” Biden said.

The ban will apply to “operations of all aircraft owned, certified, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled by, for, or for the benefit of, a person who is a citizen of Russia,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration. “This includes passenger and cargo flights, and scheduled as well as charter flights, effectively closing U.S. air space to all Russian commercial air carriers and other Russian civil aircraft.”

The ban will be “fully effective” by the end of the day Wednesday, the FAA said.

Mar 01, 9:12 pm
Lawmakers working to court ambassadors, diplomats ahead of UN vote to condemn Russia

While all eyes in Washington are on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, some lawmakers have been working the phones to rally support at the United Nations for a resolution before the General Assembly to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and call for a peaceful resolution.

Working with the United States Mission to the United Nations, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have identified more than a dozen countries to target and called for ambassadors and key diplomats to leverage relationships to build more support for the nonbinding resolution.

“This has been a way for Congress to really play an important role working with the executive branch in getting this done and showing the world that Russia’s actions are illegal and should be condemned,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, a senior member of the committee that is leading the effort, told ABC News.

The vote “is an opportunity for countries to take a stand, and it’s especially a chance for the United States to demonstrate leadership among the nations of the world,” he said.

“President Biden and his administration, and now Congress, I believe, have demonstrated our ability to marshal our allies to condemn something the world has worked for decades to root out — which is a sovereign nation invading another,” Castro said.

Republicans have also been working to build support for the measure in the General Assembly, Castro said.

Mar 01, 8:35 pm
Ukrainian foreign minister addresses reports of racism

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed the accounts of racism at the border by people of color attempting to flee, tweeting Tuesday, “Ukraine’s government spares no effort to solve the problem.”

Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also addressed the reports of racism and discrimination during a powerful speech at the U.N. Assembly on Tuesday.

“Every refugee must receive protection, no matter what their nationality, no matter what their religion, no matter of the color of their skin,” Baerbock said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia’s economy and Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 01, 12:36 pm
Russians running out of food, gas: US official

The Russian forces charging toward Kyiv haven’t made progress in the last day as they face Ukrainian resistance and low food and gas supply, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday.

However, it could be a deliberate pause, the official said. “Part of the stall could be … as a result of their own self-determined sort of pause in operations — that they are possibly regrouping, rethinking, reevaluating,” the official said.

The U.S. believes Russian forces “have committed now more than 80% of what was their pre-staged combat power,” the official added.

The official said some Russian soldiers weren’t told they were going into combat. The official said, “not all of them were apparently fully trained and prepared.”

The strong Ukrainian resistance has also hurt morale, according to the official.

Russia has now launched more than 400 missiles on Ukraine, the official said. The U.S. believes Russia has launchers that could be used for thermobaric weapons, but cannot confirm their use, the official said.

Russian forces are making the most progress in the south. Russians are attacking Kherson in south Ukraine, which “appears very much to be contested city at this point,” the official said.

Russians are also approaching Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, and while they haven’t yet entered the city, “they are close enough now that they could attack Mariupol with long range fires,” the official said.

Two towns on the path to Mariupol are believed to be occupied by the Russians, according to the official.

The U.S. believes the Russians hope to move north out of Mariupol up to the heavily-contested city of Kharkiv. The official said they believe Russian forces are trying to encircle Kharkiv.

The U.S. official noted that they’ve seen “certain risk-averse behavior by the Russian military” over the last week.

“Take the amphibious assault, for instance. They put those troops ashore a good 70 kilometers away from Mariupol because they knew Mariupol was going to be defended and they could put them ashore in an uncontested environment. And they still haven’t reached Mariupol,” the official said.

“They are not necessarily willing to take high risks with their own aircraft and their own pilots,” the official said.

“And of course we’re seeing that on the ground — the fairly slow and steady progress that they have made, and you guys are seeing it for yourselves on the ground where … units are surrendering, sometimes without a fight.”

-ABC News’ Matt Seyler

Mar 01, 12:00 pm
Russian missile hits Kyiv TV tower killing at least 5

The tower that provides the main signal to TV and radio in Kyiv has been struck by a Russian missile, leaving at least five dead, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the tower “is situated on the territory of Babyn Yar. On September 29-30, 1941, Nazis killed over 33 thousand Jews here. 80 years later, Russian Nazis strike this same land to exterminate Ukrainians. Evil and barbaric.”

Ukraine’s President President Volodymr Zelenskyy tweeted, “What is the point of saying «never again» for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating.”

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 01, 11:43 am
136 civilian deaths reported

A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said 136 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 13 children.

Mar 01, 11:14 am
US, allies agree to release of 60 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves

The 31 countries on the International Energy Agency’s Governing Board have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their 1.5 billion barrels of emergency reserves “to send a unified and strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall in supplies as a result of Russia’s invasion,” the IEA said in a statement.

Russia is the biggest oil exporter on the globe and the third-largest producer, the IEA said.

Mar 01, 10:57 am
677,000 people have fled Ukraine

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the number of Ukrainians who’ve fled their country has climbed to 677,000.

Mar 01, 10:16 am
Western officials walk out during Lavrov remarks

Diplomats from Western countries were seen on video walking out in protest as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the U.N. Human Rights Council and Conference on Disarmament.

The meeting was held Tuesday in Geneva and Lavrov gave his address via video.

The Human Rights Council has faced criticism for years for including human rights abusers, including Russia. In a prerecorded video to the council, Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned whether Russia should be allowed to keep its seat.

“One can reasonably ask whether a U.N. member state that tries to take over another U.N. member state — while committing horrific human rights abuses and causing massive humanitarian suffering — should be allowed to remain on this council,” he said.

Blinken accused Russia of hitting civilian targets like schools, hospitals, residential buildings, critical infrastructure, and cars, buses, and ambulances — including the “monstrous rocket strikes” on an apartment complex in Kharkiv.

“Reports of Russia’s human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law mount by the hour,” he said.

“These are the human rights abuses this council was created to stop. If we cannot come together now, when will we come together?” he asked.

-ABC News’ Fergal Gallagher, Conor Finnegan

Mar 01, 9:43 am
‘Growing number’ of unaccompanied and separated refugee children

Filippo Grandi, U.N. high commissioner for refugees, told the Security Council Monday there’s “a growing number of unaccompanied and separated children” in the unending lines of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

UNICEF said there are “anecdotal reports of heartbreaking stories of fathers — or families — arriving at the border with their children and relinquishing them to the border guards, then remaining in Ukraine.”

UNICEF said it doesn’t have numbers yet on unaccompanied or separated children.

Mar 01, 9:23 am
Six killed in attack on Kharkiv civilian building

A rocket attack on an administrative building in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has killed at least six people and injured another seven, Ukrainian officials said.

An Indian student was among those killed, according to the Indian government.

A senior administration official told ABC News the U.S. has learned that Russia continues to plan for a “devastating” attack on Ukraine, warning that “the Russians … will crush Ukraine.”

Mar 01, 7:40 am
YouTube blocks RT, Sputnik in Europe

Google on Tuesday said it had blocked RT and Sputnik, Russian state-linked channels, from YouTube in Europe.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) March 1, 2022

“Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action,” the company said.

Mar 01, 6:39 am
Zelenskyy calls Russian attack ‘undisguised terror’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said the Russian attack on Kharkiv’s main square was an act of “undisguised terror.”

“After that, Russia is a terrorist state. No one will forgive. Nobody will forget,” he said on Facebook.

Mar 01, 6:22 am
About 660,000 refugees have fled Ukraine: UN

At least 660,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in the six days since the Russian invasion began, the U.N. Refugees Agency said.

At the Polish border, UNHCR staff reported queues that were miles long.

“Those who crossed the border said that they had been waiting up to 60 hours,” the agency said on Tuesday. “Most arrivals are women and children from all parts of Ukraine. Temperatures are freezing and many have reported spending days on the road waiting to cross.”

Agency staff said people were waiting up to 20 hours to enter Romania. In Hungary, arrivals were “steady and waiting times vary.” The 37-mile trip between Odessa, Ukraine, and the border with Moldova was taking some refugees 24 hours, the agency said. And arrivals in Slovakia, where asylum laws were rapidly changed, were lower than elsewhere, agency staff said.

An unknown number of Ukrainian citizens have also been displaced within the country, Filippo Grandi, the agency’s commissioner, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

“The situation is moving so quickly, and the levels of risk are so high by now, that it is impossible for humanitarians to distribute systematically the aid, the help that Ukrainians desperately need,” he said.

The International Organisation for Migration said more than 470,000 people of various nationalities, “including a large number of overseas students and labour migrants,” are still in Ukraine.

Mar 01, 4:11 am
Russian bombardment strikes central square in Kharkiv

Russia on Tuesday launched a major bombardment of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hitting a central square and its civilian administration building.

Video from the scene shows a large projective hitting next to the regional state administration building on Kharkiv’s Freedom Square, causing a huge blast. Aftermath shot on phones from the scene and inside the building, show it shattered with debris strewn around.

Ukraine’s emergency services ministry said at least six people, including one child were injured. It was unclear if anyone was killed.

Kharkiv Mayor Oleg Sinegubov confirmed the strike, calling it a “war crime.”

Monday’s shelling followed a sustained bombardment of civilian areas yesterday and overnight in Kharkiv by Russian heavy artillery, including multiple rocket launchers and an alleged use of cluster munitions.

“What is happening in Kharkiv is a war crime!” Sinegubov wrote on Facebook. “The Russian enemy is shelling whole residential neighborhoods of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, no Ukrainian armed forces positions, which the Russians could be targeting.”

Sinegubov accused Russia of conducting the attacks during the day, when civilians were on the street. He said the city’s emergency services are unable to keep up with the number of attacks and injured.

So far at least 11 are dead, with dozens injured, he said.

Russian forces in Kharkiv appear to have shifted tactics to employing heavy artillery indiscriminately against the city, in an apparent effort to bombard and terrorize it into submission.

Sinegubov claimed the Russians were changing tactics because their offensive capabilities on the ground were running out and so they had nothing left but to launch aerial bombardments.

Mar 01, 3:28 am
‘Leave Kyiv urgently today,’ Indian Embassy tells citizens

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged Indians still in the capital to “leave Kyiv urgently today.”

“All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today,” the embassy said on Twitter. “Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.”

Mar 01, 2:48 am
’We will fight until the end,’ says Ukrainian parliament member

Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, on Monday said Ukrainians would “fight to the end” as they defend Kyiv from a Russian invasion.

“That’s the mood of Ukrainians. We are staying behind altogether, and we do understand that with the total second line staying behind their shoulders. And I think we will fight until the end,” Bobrovska told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.

Mar 01, 12:14 am
Russian troops ‘operational’ near Ukrainian nuclear power plant, agency says

Ukraine said its nuclear power plants are still being operated “safely and securely,” the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in an update late Monday.

However, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he “remained gravely concerned about maintaining their safety and security during the current conflict.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry told the IAEA on Monday that Russian troops are “operational” near a functioning nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, but the troops haven’t entered it so far. Any fighting near nuclear facilities causes alarm, and Ukraine has four sites in total with 15 reactors.

“It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way,” Grossi said in a statement. “An accident involving the nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have severe consequences for public health and the environment.”

The IAEA Board of Governors will hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the “safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia’s economy and Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Mar 01, 7:40 am
YouTube blocks RT, Sputnik in Europe

Google on Tuesday said it had blocked RT and Sputnik, Russian state-linked channels, from YouTube in Europe.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) March 1, 2022

“Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action,” the company said.

Mar 01, 6:39 am
Zelenskyy calls Russian attack ‘undisguised terror’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said the Russian attack on Kharkiv’s main square was an act of “undisguised terror.”

“After that, Russia is a terrorist state. No one will forgive. Nobody will forget,” he said on Facebook.

Mar 01, 6:22 am
About 660,000 refugees have fled Ukraine: UN

At least 660,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in the six days since the Russian invasion began, the U.N. Refugees Agency said.

At the Polish border, UNHCR staff reported queues that were miles long.

“Those who crossed the border said that they had been waiting up to 60 hours,” the agency said on Tuesday. “Most arrivals are women and children from all parts of Ukraine. Temperatures are freezing and many have reported spending days on the road waiting to cross.”

Agency staff said people were waiting up to 20 hours to enter Romania. In Hungary, arrivals were “steady and waiting times vary.” The 37-mile trip between Odessa, Ukraine, and the border with Moldova was taking some refugees 24 hours, the agency said. And arrivals in Slovakia, where asylum laws were rapidly changed, were lower than elsewhere, agency staff said.

An unknown number of Ukrainian citizens have also been displaced within the country, Filippo Grandi, the agency’s commissioner, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

“The situation is moving so quickly, and the levels of risk are so high by now, that it is impossible for humanitarians to distribute systematically the aid, the help that Ukrainians desperately need,” he said.

The International Organisation for Migration said more than 470,000 people of various nationalities, “including a large number of overseas students and labour migrants,” are still in Ukraine.

Mar 01, 4:11 am
Russian bombardment strikes central square in Kharkiv

Russia on Tuesday launched a major bombardment of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hitting a central square and its civilian administration building.

Video from the scene shows a large projective hitting next to the regional state administration building on Kharkiv’s Freedom Square, causing a huge blast. Aftermath shot on phones from the scene and inside the building, show it shattered with debris strewn around.

Ukraine’s emergency services ministry said at least six people, including one child were injured. It was unclear if anyone was killed.

Kharkiv Mayor Oleg Sinegubov confirmed the strike, calling it a “war crime.”

Monday’s shelling followed a sustained bombardment of civilian areas yesterday and overnight in Kharkiv by Russian heavy artillery, including multiple rocket launchers and an alleged use of cluster munitions.

“What is happening in Kharkiv is a war crime!” Sinegubov wrote on Facebook. “The Russian enemy is shelling whole residential neighborhoods of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, no Ukrainian armed forces positions, which the Russians could be targeting.”

Sinegubov accused Russia of conducting the attacks during the day, when civilians were on the street. He said the city’s emergency services are unable to keep up with the number of attacks and injured.

So far at least 11 are dead, with dozens injured, he said.

Russian forces in Kharkiv appear to have shifted tactics to employing heavy artillery indiscriminately against the city, in an apparent effort to bombard and terrorize it into submission.

Sinegubov claimed the Russians were changing tactics because their offensive capabilities on the ground were running out and so they had nothing left but to launch aerial bombardments.

Mar 01, 3:28 am
‘Leave Kyiv urgently today,’ Indian Embassy tells citizens

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged Indians still in the capital to “leave Kyiv urgently today.”

“All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today,” the embassy said on Twitter. “Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.”

Mar 01, 2:48 am
’We will fight until the end,’ says Ukrainian parliament member

Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, on Monday said Ukrainians would “fight to the end” as they defend Kyiv from a Russian invasion.

“That’s the mood of Ukrainians. We are staying behind altogether, and we do understand that with the total second line staying behind their shoulders. And I think we will fight until the end,” Bobrovska told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.

Mar 01, 12:14 am
Russian troops ‘operational’ near Ukrainian nuclear power plant, agency says

Ukraine said its nuclear power plants are still being operated “safely and securely,” the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in an update late Monday.

However, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he “remained gravely concerned about maintaining their safety and security during the current conflict.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry told the IAEA on Monday that Russian troops are “operational” near a functioning nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, but the troops haven’t entered it so far. Any fighting near nuclear facilities causes alarm, and Ukraine has four sites in total with 15 reactors.

“It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way,” Grossi said in a statement. “An accident involving the nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have severe consequences for public health and the environment.”

The IAEA Board of Governors will hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the “safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are displaced, on the front lines of battle with Russia or awaiting the end of the invasion from their homes after Russia began its attack on Ukraine in the early morning of Feb. 24.

Now, many around the world are left wondering how to help Ukrainians amid the onslaught.

Here are some ways to support the effort:

Razom for Ukraine

The nonprofit is collecting donations for its emergency response project to provide medical supplies, humanitarian aid and support volunteers on the ground.

The group is also partnering with other Ukrainian-targeted organizations like Nova Ukraine, United Help Ukraine, Revived Soldiers Ukraine, Sunflower for Peace and Euromaidan-Warszava, according to its website.

The organization says it will use funds to purchase “tourniquets, bandages, combat gauzes, sterile pads, and satellite phones.” It also says it is arranging “warehouses and points of delivery in Poland and Ukraine.”

Global Giving

The charity organization GlobalGiving has started a Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund which will provide shelter, food, and water to the 500,000 refugees and counting. The money will also be used for health and psychosocial care, as well as education and economic assistance, according to the organization’s website.

“All donations to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund will support humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled,” the fund page reads. “GlobalGiving’s local partners are bringing relief to terrified and displaced communities, and they need resources to continue their life-saving work.”

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee is collecting financial donations that will go toward supporting resources and aid to displaced families.

The organization specializes in helping refugees around the world who have been forced from their homes. They target communities where people lack vital resources for resettlement and recovery from crises.

They also play a vital role in resettlement efforts in the United States.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders, an organization that provides medical care during humanitarian crises, still has workers in Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict.

Donations to Doctors Without Borders will fund these services as well as mass casualty kits, emergency medicine and preparedness training for local hospitals and more.

“[The] teams in Ukraine are deeply worried about the consequences of the conflict for Ukrainian people and communities,” the website read. “As hostilities continue, ensuring people’s access to health care and medicines will be critical. Our teams are looking into how they can adapt MSF’s activities to respond.”

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the refugee agency for the United Nations, is accepting donations to provide health care, legal assistance and on-the-ground supply support to refugees from Ukraine.

“UNHCR has stepped up our operations and capacity in Ukraine and neighbouring countries,” the organization’s website read. “We remain firmly committed to support all affected populations in Ukraine and countries in the region.”

Airbnb

The online rental company Airbnb announced that it will offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine via its non-profit initiative Airbnb.org.

The organization urges anyone interested in opening up their homes to refugees to get involved: “We know that Hosts and guests on Airbnb around the world will be eager to stand up and assist this massive effort to help those fleeing Ukraine,” a statement from Airbnb.org read.

“[Airbnb.org] will work closely with governments to best support the specific needs in each country, including by providing longer-term stays,” the statement continued.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia’s economy and Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Mar 01, 4:11 am
Russian bombardment strikes central square in Kharkiv

Russia on Tuesday launched a major bombardment of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hitting a central square and its civilian administration building.

Video from the scene shows a large projective hitting next to the regional state administration building on Kharkiv’s Freedom Square, causing a huge blast. Aftermath shot on phones from the scene and inside the building, show it shattered with debris strewn around.

Ukraine’s emergency services ministry said at least six people, including one child were injured. It was unclear if anyone was killed.

Kharkiv Mayor Oleg Sinegubov confirmed the strike, calling it a “war crime.”

Monday’s shelling followed a sustained bombardment of civilian areas yesterday and overnight in Kharkiv by Russian heavy artillery, including multiple rocket launchers and an alleged use of cluster munitions.

“What is happening in Kharkiv is a war crime!” Sinegubov wrote on Facebook. “The Russian enemy is shelling whole residential neighborhoods of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, no Ukrainian armed forces positions, which the Russians could be targeting.”

Sinegubov accused Russia of conducting the attacks during the day, when civilians were on the street. He said the city’s emergency services are unable to keep up with the number of attacks and injured.

So far at least 11 are dead, with dozens injured, he said.

Russian forces in Kharkiv appear to have shifted tactics to employing heavy artillery indiscriminately against the city, in an apparent effort to bombard and terrorize it into submission.

Sinegubov claimed the Russians were changing tactics because their offensive capabilities on the ground were running out and so they had nothing left but to launch aerial bombardments.

Mar 01, 3:28 am
‘Leave Kyiv urgently today,’ Indian Embassy tells citizens

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged Indians still in the capital to “leave Kyiv urgently today.”

“All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today,” the embassy said on Twitter. “Preferably by available trains or through any other means available.”

Mar 01, 2:48 am
’We will fight until the end,’ says Ukrainian parliament member

Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, on Monday said Ukrainians would “fight to the end” as they defend Kyiv from a Russian invasion.

“That’s the mood of Ukrainians. We are staying behind altogether, and we do understand that with the total second line staying behind their shoulders. And I think we will fight until the end,” Bobrovska told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.

Mar 01, 12:14 am
Russian troops ‘operational’ near Ukrainian nuclear power plant, agency says

Ukraine said its nuclear power plants are still being operated “safely and securely,” the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in an update late Monday.

However, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he “remained gravely concerned about maintaining their safety and security during the current conflict.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry told the IAEA on Monday that Russian troops are “operational” near a functioning nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, but the troops haven’t entered it so far. Any fighting near nuclear facilities causes alarm, and Ukraine has four sites in total with 15 reactors.

“It is extremely important that the nuclear power plants are not put at risk in any way,” Grossi said in a statement. “An accident involving the nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have severe consequences for public health and the environment.”

The IAEA Board of Governors will hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the “safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — As the U.S. and other Western nations considered how to address Russian aggression, the Pentagon and White House said Monday the U.S. saw no need to change the its nuclear alert level despite Russian President Vladimir Putin making a a veiled threat Sunday that he was doing so.

“We are assessing Putin’s directive and at this time we see no reason to change our own alert level,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“The United States nor NATO has any desire for conflict with Russia, and we think provocative rhetoric like this regarding nuclear weapons is dangerous, adds to the risk of miscalculation, should be avoided, and we’ll not indulge in it,” she said.

Asked by a reporter after a Black History Month event whether Americans should be worried about nuclear was, President Joe Biden quickly responded, “No.”

Psaki also said that the $350 million in aid that Biden approved to be delivered to Ukraine will arrive “within the next couple of days” although that has been complicated by disputed airspace over and near Ukraine. At the same time, she effectively ruled out NATO enforcing a no-fly zone in the area.

Earlier Monday, Biden held a call with allies and partners to coordinate the ongoing response to as Ukraine and Russia held talks on a possible cease-fire in the invasion.

The call included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

That call comes as Russian and Ukrainian leaders met for talks for six hours at the Belarusian border on Monday morning.

A Ukrainian spokesman said in a statement afterward that there may be another round of negotiations.

“The Ukrainian and Russian delegations held the first round of talks today, the main purpose of which was to discuss the issues of a cease-fire on the territory of Ukraine and hostilities,” Mikhail Podolyak said.

At the State Department, the U.S. response was skeptical.

“Diplomacy at the barrel of a gun, diplomacy at the turret of a tank – that is not real diplomacy,” spokesperson Ned Price said. Though he said that the U.S., Ukraine, and European allies still believe dialogue is the way forward, he clarified that “diplomacy is highly unlikely to bear fruit – to prove effective – in the midst of not only confrontation, but escalation.” Later, he said, “In order for it to bear fruit, it needed to take place in the context of de-escalation.”

The White House on Monday also laid out more specifics about sanctions announced over the weekend in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions on Russia’s Central Bank prevent the Russian government from access more than $600 billion in reserves in the U.S., or in U.S. dollars in foreign countries. Officials said that from it was evident that Putin planned to use the central bank’s assets to offset the effects of sanctions from Western countries.

A senior White House official said they “represent the most significant actions the U.S. Treasury has taken against an economy of this size, and assets of this size.”

“Today’s announcement that prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Russia in the national wealth fund will significantly hinder their ability to do that, and inhibit their access to hundreds of billions of dollars in assets from our actions alone, they will not be able to access assets that are either in United States or in US dollars,” officials said.

Beyond sanctions, the U.S., among other nations, is providing material support to Ukraine as it tries to beat back Russian forces. A senior defense official said Monday that the U.S. is continuing “to provide security assistance to Ukraine, and that includes in just the last day or so.”

“We don’t have any indications that that there’s been a blockage or impediment to continued assistance coming from the west to the Ukrainian armed forces,” the senior defense official said. “And as I said, that support continues to flow not just from the United States, but from other nations as well.”

However, the defense official was hesitant to give specifics about the details of U.S. support to Ukrainian forces given so that the support is not “disrupted.”

“I will remain reticent to talk about the methods in which and the ways in which we’re going to look for ways to continue to provide our support precisely because we want to make sure it gets into the hands of Ukrainian armed forces and Ukrainian fighters and we don’t want that to be disrupted,” a senior defense official said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to talk about the potential of that aid being disrupted during a press briefing Monday.

“We’re going to continue to provide security assistance to Ukrainian armed forces, and we’re still going to look for ways to do that, in the most effective, efficient way possible,” Kirby said.

ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Justin Gomez, Matt Seyler, Conor Finnegan, Benjamin Gittleson, Joseph Simoetti and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) —Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, don’t appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia’s economy and Putin himself.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

 

Feb 28, 2:22 pm
Ukraine, Russia envoys kick off contentious debate in rare UNGA special session

In an extraordinary emergency meeting of the U.N. General Assembly — only the 11th in the body’s history — representatives from Ukraine and Russia delivered fiery back-to-back remarks.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.N. Sergiy Kyslytsya compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hilter.

“This war was not provoked. It was chosen by someone who is right now sitting in the bunker. We know what happened with the person who sat in the bunker in Berlin in May 1945,” he said.

Kyslytsya accused Russia of carrying out war crimes, saying Russians “keep attacking kindergartens and orphanages, thus committing war crimes and violating the Rome Statute. Hospitals and mobile medical aid brigades are also targeted by the Russian shelling and sabotage groups working in Ukraine cities and towns.”

He concluded with an appeal for support, stressing that it was not just Ukraine at stake.

“If Ukraine does not survive, international peace will not survive,” he said.

Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya denied the veracity of many of Kyslytsya’s claims, saying instead of discussing the roots of the “disinformation,” he wished to focus on the “real reasons for the crisis,” saying the fault lies with Ukraine itself. He cited baseless Kremlin-peddled claims that the country was carrying out a brutal attack on the people of the Donbas region and accused Western powers of turning “a blind eye.”

Nebenzya also attempted to shift blame to the West.

“Our Western colleagues have shamelessly inundated the country with weapons, have sent to the country instructors, and effectively incited Ukrainians who are facing a 120,000-strong military contingent, and prompted them to engage in armed provocation again the Donbas,” he said.

This phase of debate on a resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine has now concluded and the General Assembly is expected to vote on the resolution later on Monday.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 28, 1:55 pm
French embassy moving from Kyiv to Lviv

France’s embassy in Ukraine will be moved from the capital, Kyiv, to Lviv, near the Polish border, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a live interview on BFMTV.

Le Drian said, “I’m not sure President Putin imagined his operation was going to be so difficult.”

He added, “Vladimir Putin has lost the communication battle” and that while “Putin wanted to divide us,” “he has achieved the opposite.”

Feb 28, 1:17 pm
US shutters embassy in Belarus, draws down embassy in Russia

The U.S. is suspending operations at the embassy in Belarus, where just half a dozen U.S. diplomats had been based, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

The U.S. is also drawing down its embassy in Moscow, authorizing the departure of non-emergency staff and diplomats’ families, Blinken said in a statement.

He didn’t cite any specific threat but said the department took these steps “due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”

The U.S. special envoy for Belarus tweeted a photo showing two American diplomats taking down the flag at the embassy in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

“Belarus’ complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown the regime’s loss of sovereign decision-making,” Ambassador Julie Fisher tweeted.

Fisher said all staff have already departed the country, with some moving to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where she has been based.

While U.S. officials have been concerned that Belarusian forces will join Russia’s invasion, a senior Defense Department official told reporters Monday they’ve seen no indication that Belarus is preparing to join. But Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko “seems to be establishing a pretext for more active involvement” in the war, according to an internal State Department situation report Sunday obtained by ABC News, including by accusing Ukraine of “beating” and “poisoning” Belarusians in Ukraine.

Feb 28, 12:51 pm
FIFA, UEFA suspend Russian teams

FIFA and UEFA said they are suspending all Russian national and club soccer teams from competition until further notice.

The UEFA soccer league also said it’s ending its partnership with Russian gas company Gazprom.

“The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national team competitions and UEFA EURO 2024,” UEFA said.

Feb 28, 12:40 pm
Russia bans flights from 36 countries from their airspace

Russia is restricting the flights of airlines from 36 countries “as a retaliatory measure” for the European Union’s ban on Russian planes, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency.

The countries on Russia’s ban are: Austria, Albania, Anguilla (a British overseas territory), Belgium, Bulgaria, the British Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Denmark (including Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the territorial sea), Jersey, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia.

The U.S., which isn’t included on Russia’s list, hasn’t banned Russia from its airspace. However, Delta suspended its codeshare partnership with Russian airline Aeroflot on Friday.

Feb 28, 12:13 pm
State Department: Reports of human rights abuses ‘widespread’

The State Department said in a statement Monday that “reports of human rights abuses have been widespread” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pointing to attacks that killed civilians, including children, and destroyed schools, hospitals and homes.

The allegation of human rights abuses has also gone further to accusations of war crimes by Russia’s military. Amnesty International reported Sunday that Russia used cluster munitions in an attack against a kindergarten that killed three civilians, including one child, which “could constitute a war crime,” the human rights group said. The use of cluster munitions against civilians is a violation of international law.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has repeatedly accused Russian forces of committing war crimes, tweeting on Friday that Ukraine’s general prosecutor’s office is collecting reports and will send them to The Hague, adding, “responsibility is inevitable.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will address the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was set to address the same chamber but his trip was canceled “due to an unprecedented ban on his flight in the airspace of a number of EU countries,” Russia’s mission to the U.N. offices in Geneva said.

Feb 28, 11:59 am
Talks between Ukraine, Russia end after six hours

Talks between a Ukrainian delegation and Russian officials at the Belarus-Ukraine border have ended after six hours. Both sides will return to their capital cities for consultation ahead of a second round of talks.

Ukraine said it wanted a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal, while the Kremlin said it would not announce its position. Russia’s negotiators have talked of striking a deal that’s in the interests of both sides.

Feb 28, 11:47 am
Russian advance frustrated by resistance: US official

Russian forces are frustrated by their slow advance, but that could lead them “to be more aggressive and more overt in both the size and scale of their targeting of Kyiv,” a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, implying less discriminate attacks with more danger to civilian populations.

The Russians heading south to Kyiv continue to be slowed by fuel shortages and stiff Ukrainian resistance and have only moved about three miles since Sunday, leaving them about 16 miles away from the capital city, the official said.

“We believe they want to encircle Kyiv and it’s possible that they could adopt siege tactics there,” the official warned.

On Sunday the same official said there were indications Russian forces were adopting siege tactics around the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.

So far, the Russians have fired more than 380 missiles, the official said.

Putin has committed about 75% of the more than 150,000 forces he had arrayed at the border to the invasion inside Ukraine, according to the official.

There’s no indication Belarusian forces are involved or are preparing to join Russia in the invasion, and Russia has not placed nuclear weapons in Belarus, according to the official.

Feb 28, 10:53 am
Putin tells Macron he’ll stop strikes against civilian targets

According to the Elysée, Russian President Vladimir Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday that he’ll stop strikes against civilian targets.

Putin also told Macron he’ll preserve civilian infrastructure to secure main roads, including the road south of Kyiv, according to the French government.

Macron and Putin will speak again this week, the Elysée said.

Feb 28, 10:18 am
IOC recommends no participation of athletes from Russia, Belarus

The International Olympic Committee said its executive board is recommending prohibiting athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus in international competitions.

The recommendation is “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the IOC said.

Feb 28, 9:57 am
Neutral Switzerland adopts EU sanctions targeting Russia

Switzerland is breaking from its longstanding policy of neutrality by adopting the packages of sanctions imposed by the European Union citing Russia’s continuing military invasion of Ukraine.

Switzerland, which has long been a safe haven for Russian assets, announced on Monday that it’s imposing financial sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov, and is targeting the assets of certain people and companies.

Switzerland also is imposing entry bans against individuals who have a connection to Switzerland and are linked to Putin and will be closing Swiss airspace to flights from Russia, with the exception of flights for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic purposes, officials said.

Switzerland will also extend a ban on imports, exports and investments concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, which has been in place since 2014, to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Swiss officials said they are partially suspending the 2009 agreement on visa facilitation for Russian nationals, and those with diplomatic passports will continue to be allowed entry without a visa in an effort to continue diplomatic talks.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Feb 28, 9:01 am
US banning Russia’s central bank from accessing reserves in US

Senior administration officials on Monday provided more specifics on the sanctions against Russia announced over the weekend and emphasized the drastic nature of these steps, saying the “actions represent the most significant actions the U.S. Treasury has taken against an economy of this size, and assets of this size,” noting the Russian central bank is multiple times larger than Iran’s or Venezuela’s.

The U.S. has put into effect sanctions on Russia’s central bank that keep Moscow from accessing any of their more than $600 billion in reserves in the U.S., or in U.S. dollars in foreign countries. The sanctions also target Russia’s National Wealth Fund and the Ministry of Finance.

Officials said it was clear from the beginning of the invasion that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning to use central bank assets to mitigate any sanctions.

“Today’s announcement that prohibit transactions with the Central Bank of Russia in the national wealth fund will significantly hinder their ability to do that, and inhibit their access to hundreds of billions of dollars in assets from our actions alone, they will not be able to access assets that are either in United States or in US dollars,” officials said.

“What we’ve done today is not only preventing them from using those dollars in the United States, but preventing them from being able to use those dollars in other places like Europe or Japan to defend their currency and prop up their institutions. And our goal was to make sure that not only would they not have access to dollars, but also not have access to other currencies,” officials said.

“Our strategy — to put it simply — is to make sure that the Russian economy goes backwards, as long as President Putin decides to go forward with his invasion of Ukraine,” a senior administration official said.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Justin Gomez

Feb 28, 8:39 am
White House: ‘No reason to change’ US alert levels

After Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on a state of heightened alert this weekend, a White House official confirms the U.S. has not changed its own alert level.

“We are assessing President Putin’s directive and at this time see no reason to change our own alert levels,” a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

“We think provocative rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons is dangerous, adds to the risk of miscalculation, should be avoided, and we will not indulge in it,” the official added.

The official also noted that, as recently as June, when President Joe Biden met Putin face-to-face in Geneva, the two leaders affirmed nuclear war is tantamount to mutually assured destruction.

The leaders said in a joint statement in June, “Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Feb 28, 8:21 am
US shutters embassy in Belarus, draws down embassy in Russia

The U.S. is suspending operations at the embassy in Belarus, where just half a dozen U.S. diplomats had been based, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

The U.S. is also drawing down its embassy in Moscow, authorizing the departure of non-emergency staff and diplomats’ families, Blinken said in a statement.

He didn’t cite any specific threat but said the department took these steps “due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

Feb 28, 6:47 am
Russia hikes key rate to 20% as ruble tumbles

Russia’s central bank on Monday raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% in an apparent effort to slow the fallout from severe international sanctions.

The rate hike came as the Russian ruble tumbled, trading down as much as 30% against the U.S. dollar on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The currency traded about 17% lower midday in Moscow.

The Russian stock market reportedly closed for the day.

-ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki

Feb 28, 6:23 am
500,000 refugees have fled Ukraine, UN says

More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Thursday, the U.N. Refugee Agency said on Monday.

More than half have crossed the border into Poland, the agency said. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, had said on Sunday that 368,000 people had fled to neighboring countries.

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee

Feb 28, 5:00 am
Ukraine delegation arrives for talks with Russia

The Ukrainian delegation sent for talks with Russia arrived Monday morning at the Belarus-Ukraine border, where the meeting will be held.

Ukraine has said the key issue for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Russia has signalled it wants to discuss Ukraine adopting “neutral status.”

The head of Russia’s delegation has said the two sides will meet within about an hour. They are meeting on the Pripyat River, north of Chernobyl.

The Ukrainian delegation includes the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, the head of Zelenskyy’s parliamentary party, as well as advisors to the president and MPs.

Russia’s delegation includes officials from the Foreign and Defense ministries, and the presidential administration.

The talks were agreed to on Sunday in a call between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Fighting continued throughout the night, as Russia attempted to advance and bombarded Ukrainian forces.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Julia Drozd

Feb 28, 3:29 am
Russian advance slows north of Kyiv, UK military says

The U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Monday that the advance of Russian ground forces had been slowed by Ukraine’s defense of an airport in Hostomel, about 19 miles north of Kyiv.

“Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance,” the ministry said on Twitter.

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(NEW YORK) — Delegations from Ukraine and Russia held talks Monday morning on Belarus’ border in an attempt to end Moscow’s invasion as Russian troops continue to attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to send a delegation to meet with Russian negotiators during a phone call Sunday with Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s president’s office announced.

The two sides began talks Monday at the Pripyat River on the border, north of Chernobyl, the spokesperson said, an area that is currently under Russian military control.

Roughly six hours after the talks began, they ended with both sides reporting back to officials in their respective capital cities ahead of a possible second-round to talks.

“The Ukrainian and Russian delegations held the first round of talks today, the main purpose of which was to discuss the issues of a ceasefire on the territory of Ukraine and hostilities. The parties identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions were outlined,” Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said in a statement following Monday’s talks.

Podolyak added, “In order for these decisions to get some opportunities for implementation, logistical solutions, the parties leave for consultations in their capitals. The parties discussed the possibility of holding a second round of negotiations in the near future, at which these topics will receive concrete development practice.”

Ukraine has said the key issue for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Russia has signaled it wants to discuss Ukraine adopting “neutral status.”

The Ukrainian delegation included Podolyak; David Arahamiya, a member of the Servant of the People political faction; Oleksiy Reznikov, the minister of Defense of Ukraine; Andriy Kostin, the first deputy dead of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group; Rustem Umerov, a member of the Parliament of Ukraine; and Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytsky.

Russia’s delegation includes officials from the foreign and defense ministries and presidential administration.

The talks are the first between the two sides since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Thursday, but Zelenskyy, in a televised address, said he had little hope of a breakthrough.

“I will be honest, as always: I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try,” Zelenskyy said. He added that if there was a “chance” to end the war, he should take part in the talks.

As the talks got underway, French President Emmanuel Macron and Putin spoke by phone.

According to Macron’s office, Putin purportedly agreed to halt all strikes against civilian targets, preserve civilian infrastructure and secure main roads, in particular, the road south of Kyiv.

During the call, Macron reiterated a request of the international community to end the Russian offensive against Ukraine and reaffirmed the need to implement an immediate ceasefire. Macron also called on Putin to respect international humanitarian law and the protection of civilian populations as well as the delivery of aid in accordance with a resolution brought by France to the United Nations Security Council.

According to a readout of the call released by the Kremlin, Putin told Macron Russia is open to negotiations with Ukrainian representatives and expects the talks will lead to the “desired results.” During the call, Putin denied that Russian forces are attacking civilian targets, according to the Kremlin’s readout.

The two leaders agreed to speak again in the coming days.

Ukraine had earlier rejected a proposal from Russia to hold the talks in the southern Belarusian city of Gomel, on the grounds that Belarus is directly involved in Russia’s attack, having hosted the Russian invasion force that is now moving south on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and letting Russia fire missiles from its territory.

The Kremlin has signaled it wants to hold talks where Zelenskyy will discuss “neutral status” for Ukraine, in effect hoping to negotiate Kyiv’s terms of surrender. But Zelenskyy’s administration has said while it wants talks to end the killing in Ukraine, it will not make concessions.

“We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, we will not give up a single inch of our territory,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said at a press conference.

While brokering the meeting, Zelenskyy said Lukashenko has promised that no missiles or aircraft would carry out strikes on Ukraine while the negotiations were underway. But in an unpromising sign for the talks, Ukrainian officials said Belarus had launched at least two Iskander ballistic missiles at Ukraine on Sunday after the agreement to meet was reached.

It was also Lukasheko who suggested that Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet at the Belarus-Ukraine border, Zelenskyy said, adding that though he is not optimistic a resolution will be reached, he does not want there to be any doubt that he did not try to stop the war.

The diplomatic effort came as Russian troops continued to try to press their attack in Ukraine but faced a fierce defense from Ukrainian forces. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the country’s northeast, Ukrainian defenders succeeded in beating back Russian units during street fighting.

The momentum of Russian forces in Ukraine appears to have been slowed by fuel and logistics shortages, as well as “stiff resistance,” a U.S. senior defense official told ABC News on Sunday.

The official also credited the slowdown of the Russian invasion to resistance by Ukraine.

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