Russian troops captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Russia's Interfax news agency said, as Moscow launched coordinated missile and artillery attacks on several cities including the capital Kyiv.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian military to overthrow the country's leadership and negotiate peace.
- Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's spokesman said on social media.
- Russia vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Friday that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote.
- China is in a diplomatic scramble to limit blowback while standing by a partner with which it has grown increasingly close in opposition to the West.
- President Joe Biden instructed the U.S. State Department to release $350 million in military aid to Ukraine, and asked Congress to approve $6.4 billion in aid to address the humanitarian and security crisis.
- The White House said the United States, in a rare move, would impose sanctions on Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. The European Union and Canada are doing the same.
- Canada, the United States, Britain and the European Union said they could act to exclude Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system.
- Ukraine said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. Russia did not release casualty figures. The United Nations said 25 civilians had been killed and 102 wounded.
- NATO allies will provide more weapons to Ukraine and deploy more forces to the eastern part of the alliance.
- The conflict could drive up to 5 million people abroad, U.N. agencies said, adding that at least 100,000 people were uprooted and fuel, cash and medical supplies are running low.
QUOTES
- "We will not put down weapons, we will defend our state," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, facing the worst European security crisis in decades.
