March 6, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday and updated him on his earlier call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a read out from the Élysée Palace. 

French President Emmanuel Macron had voiced his “grave concern” about nuclear safety during a call with President Vladimir Putin earlier on Sunday.

In his call with Zelensky, Macron had “reiterated the absolute necessity to avoid any attack on the integrity of Ukrainian civil nuclear facilities.”

According to the Élysée, the humanitarian situation was also discussed and Macron had told Zelensky that he will pay “close attention to the needs of Ukraine and France will continue to increase its support in this area.”

Television and radio broadcasts have been knocked out in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, after Russian military strikes, according to the Regional Administration.

In a post on Facebook Sunday, the Regional Administration said, “repeated shelling” of the TV tower in Kharkiv had knocked out tv and radio broadcasting. 

On Tuesday March 1, Russian military strikes targeted Kyiv’s TV Tower, also resulting in an interruption in its broadcast capabilities.

Israel will setup a field hospital in Ukraine in the coming days, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, to treat victims of Russia’s attack on its southern neighbor. 

Additionally, Israel will send six large generators to the main hospital in Lviv to “allow for its continuous operation even without its regular power supply,” the ministry said in a statement. It also plans to set up assistance centers for refugees at Ukraine’s border crossings, where winter clothes and supplies will be handed out. 

Foreign Ministry officials say at least 10,200 Israeli citizens have now left Ukraine since the government first appealed for them to do so three weeks ago. More than half have left since the start of the Russian invasion last month. 

Also on Sunday, three planes carrying about 300 Ukrainian Jews arrived in Israel, among them ninety orphans. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was at Tel Aviv airport to receive the new arrivals. 

Under Israel’s law of return, any Jew can request Israeli citizenship. With Ukraine home to a large Jewish population, Israeli officials say they are preparing for a potential wave of tens of thousands of Ukrainian emigres. 

Several people who spoke with CNN after arriving from Ukraine on Sunday said they had planned at some point to move to Israel but said the war had sped up the process. 

Lena, originally from Odessa, arrived with her two young boys after traveling since the outbreak of hostilities. 

“I was planning to come here but when the war started it was immediately decided,” she said. 

Lena told CNN she had been forced to leave her husband behind, since men under the age of sixty are not permitted to leave the country, following a law passed in the wake of Russia’s invasion. 

“We are in shock, but I hope everything will be great now,” she said. 

Toavia from Kyiv told CNN she thinks many Jews will now move to Israel. 

“I know people who had not planned to come, but [the invasion] changed their plans. This is happening to lots of Jews,” she said. 

Toavia added she was excited to make it to Israel but said she wouldn’t feel complete until she hugged her family, who have left the country via a different route. 

“I think I am still shaken because I’ve seen war,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s leaders continue diplomatic efforts. A day after his surprise visit to Moscow for a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had a phone call with the Russian leader Sunday, according to a statement from the PM’s office. 

Bennett also spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. While no details of the phone conversations were released, Bennett told Cabinet colleagues earlier in the day he believed Israel had a special responsibility to pursue a diplomatic breakthrough. 

“Even if the chance is not great, as soon as there is even a small opening, and we have access to all sides and the capability, [then] I see this as our moral obligation to make every effort,” he said. 

Monday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will fly to Latvia for a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  

While the Ukrainian military’s resistance against Russia’s invasion has been well-documented, the last few days have seen growing popular defiance of Russian forces. In the south of Ukraine, especially, there have been multiple protests in areas where Russian troops have arrived.

At least several hundred people gathered in the center of Kherson on Saturday to protest the Russian occupation of the Black Sea port.

One video of the demonstrations showed people walking into Kherson’s main square despite the occasional volley of gunfire. Where that gunfire came from is unclear, but a small detachment of Russian soldiers is seen guarding the Regional Council building.

The protesters chanted “Ukrainia,” and the largest cheer went up when a young man waving Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag scrambled onto a Russian troop carrier.

One man who attended the protests managed to send a sequence of videos to CNN, saying in broken English: “People want to show that Kherson is Ukraine, and all brave people go into this meeting, not afraid of Russian military.”

There was a further demonstration in Kherson on Sunday. Videos from this event suggest it was smaller but no less determined. An elderly woman looked steadily into the camera in one video and said quietly: “Save our country! Let them all die, together with Putin.”

In the city of Nova Kakhovka, a crowd cheered as an elderly woman brandished a broom and dustpan as a welcome to Russian troops. Two men scrambled up a plinth to raise the Ukrainian flag outside the city hall.

Later, video emerged of smoke rising from among the crowd amid the sound of gunfire. The Ukrainian news agency Interfax said five people had been injured after Russian forces opened fire — apparently above the protestors’ heads – and used stun grenades.

It seemed like almost every town in Kherson was out on Sunday. In Novooleksiika, hundreds sang the national anthem and shouted “Ukraine is above all” as they walked down a rural road.

And in Kalanchak, which lies closer to Crimea, hundreds of people sang the national anthem and shouted “Ukraine is above all” as they walked down a rural road – with multiple generations of locals bound together in national solidarity.

They then unfurled a huge Ukrainian flag and harangued masked and heavily armed Russian soldiers. Women shouted, “Get out of our land, we don’t need you! Get out of our land!”

Since the middle of last week there have been protests against Russia, often involving just a few dozen people, from Berdyansk on Ukraine’s south coast to Konotop, hundreds of miles north between Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Read more.

Eight civilians were killed in the midst of an evacuation in Irpin — a district west of Kyiv that saw intense shelling on Sunday — the mayor of Irpin Oleksandr Markushyn said in a statement on Telegram Sunday. 

Markushyn said Russians opened fire during an evacuation across a bridge. 

“A family died,” he said, “in front of my eyes two small children and two adults died.” 

Video from the scene showed civilians moving through the checkpoint before an explosion occurred at a crossroads that appeared to be caused by a shell or mortar. 

“Irpin is at war, Irpin has not surrendered,” Markushyn said. “Part of Irpin was indeed captured by Russian invaders, but part of Irpin is fighting and not surrendering.” 

Markushyn said another evacuation would begin tomorrow morning. 

American Express is the latest credit card company to announce it is ending its operations in Russia as its invasion into Ukraine escalates.

On Sunday, the company said in a statement that globally issued American Express cards will no longer work in Russia, and cards issued in Russia won’t work outside the country.

American Express also said it is ending its business operations in Belarus.

Mastercard said Saturday it was suspending its network services in Russia, and Visa also announced Saturday it was suspending all operations there.

TikTok said Sunday it is suspending some features in Russia in light of the country’s new law penalizing misinformation. 

“In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” the company tweeted. “Our in-app messaging service will not be affected.”

The company added in a blog post: “We will continue to evaluate the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we might fully resume our services with safety as our top priority.”

Russian forces have switched off some mobile networks and the internet at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

In a statement, the IAEA said that this meant that “reliable information from the site cannot be obtained through the normal channels of communication.”

Ukraine’s nuclear regulator confirmed that it had started having major problems communicating with staff operating the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, according to the statement.

The IAEA added that there were also problems with food availability and supply at the plant.

“The deteriorating situation regarding vital communications between the regulator and the Zaporizhzhia NPP is also a source of deep concern, especially during an armed conflict that may jeopardize the country’s nuclear facilities at any time. Reliable communications between the regulator and the operator are a critical part of overall nuclear safety and security,” Grossi added.

Some more context: The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is now under orders from the commander of Russian forces that took control of the site last week, according to the IAEA.

The statement said that regular staff continued to operate the nuclear power plant, but that “any action of plant management – including measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor units – requires prior approval by the Russian commander.”

Pussy Riot founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova joined CNN’s State of the Union Sunday and told Jake Tapper that it’s incredible to see the ongoing protests in her native Russia, especially given the risk associated with speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.

“Knowing that and seeing the thousands of people are still going to the streets and getting arrested shows that a lot of Russians are actually against the war,” she added.

Tolokonnikova told Tapper that in the wake of the government ban of Facebook and closure of the last remaining independent television station, Russians have found alternative means such as using VPN to access accurate information about the invasion, but that the cost involved makes it difficult for many to afford such technology.

The musician and activist also shared with CNN a harrowing story about a family friend beaten and detained in a recent protest and added that her friends back in Russia are angry and terrified by the current circumstances.

“A week ago, police beat a friend of my daughter. My daughter is 14, her friend is 14 as well, and she went with her dad to an anti-war protest, and police started to beat her, and her dad came to the policeman and said, ‘what are you doing — she’s 14, don’t do that.’ Then instead of beating the kid, policemen switched to beating the dad and the dad ended up in the police station for a couple days, pretty brutally beaten. Situations like that, they’re unfortunately happening quite often.”

Sandra Ishchenko runs Dog City in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 5. The center now serves as a shelter for pets left behind by their owners.

Before Russia launched its war against Ukraine, Sandra Ishchenko ran a pet care center called Dog City. Now, it’s a shelter for pets, mostly dogs, left behind by their owners. The people who left their pets behind in the care of Sandra, hope and expect that they will return to retrieve their pets once the fighting ceases and it is safe to return.

Owners left their bird in Sandra’s care until they can return to Kyiv, Ukraine.

Anastasia, an employee at Dog City, carries a frightened dog into the shelter.

Owners left their cat “Kitty” in Sandra’s care until they can return.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday called for the transfer of fighter jets to Poland after a plea from Ukrainian President Zelensky for Western countries to send fighter aircraft into his country.

“I strongly urged the Secretary of State yesterday to complete this transaction. You know, the Ukrainians can fly Russian MiGs. But then Poland wants a back order, and that may be possibly F-16s,” McCaul, who is in Poland, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

A White House spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Saturday that the US is working with Poland on the possibility of Poland providing fighter jets to Ukraine along with consulting with other allies.

More on this: Following a Zoom call with Ukrainian leader President Volodymyr Zelensky, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer called on the Biden administration to facilitate the transfer of “desperately-needed” aircraft to Ukraine. 

At a Sunday press briefing, Schumer stressed that Zelensky is in short supply of aircraft and that several Eastern European countries have Soviet-made jets which the Ukrainian Air Force pilots know how to operate. 

“Today I’m announcing the push for the U.S. administration to explore all feasible options to transfer these desperately needed aircraft to Ukraine,” Schumer said. “We are asking our administration to do everything they can to facilitate the transfer of planes from Eastern Europe to Ukraine.” 

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told CNN that “all western companies must withdraw from Russia” on humanitarian grounds. 

After receiving criticism from Kuleba for continuing to buy crude oil from Russia, energy company Shell had said that they “will commit profits from the limited amount of Russian oil we have to purchase to a dedicated fund… to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of Ukraine.”

When asked about this by Zakaria, Kuleba said that all energy companies need to “stop buying Russian oil. This goes not only to Shell but also to other companies. Some tough measures were imposed on Russia, but we all know that the biggest revenues come from trade in oil and gas.” 

“Today, Russian oil and gas smells with Ukrainian blood,” Kuleba said. 

Kuleba also reserved criticism for Coca-Cola and McDonalds as two multinational companies that continue to do business in Russia. 

“We were upset to hear companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s remain in Russia and continue providing their products,” he said.

US and European officials have been discussing how the West would support a government-in-exile helmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should he have to flee Kyiv, western officials tell CNN.

The discussions have ranged from supporting Zelensky and top Ukrainian officials in a potential move to Lviv in western Ukraine, to the possibility that Zelensky and his aides are forced to flee Ukraine altogether and establish a new government in Poland, the officials said.

The discussions are only preliminary and no decisions have been made, the sources said.

Western officials have also been wary of discussing a government-in-exile directly with Zelensky, because he wants to stay in Kyiv, and has so far rejected conversations that focus on anything other than boosting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, two western diplomats explained. They added that there have been discussions about sending one or more members of Zelensky’s government to an external location where a government could be set up in case Kyiv falls and Zelensky is unwilling or unable to get out.

US and European officials believed in the earlier days of the war that Zelensky moving to Lviv might be feasible because it was not clear whether Russia would target western Ukraine. But now—given Russia’s dramatic escalation over the last several days against civilian targets across Ukraine—they are not as sure that Russia will spare any inch of Ukrainian territory.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is seen in this handout photo provided by the Ukrainian National Nuclear Energy Generation Company Energoatom, after it was attacked by Russian forces early on Friday morning.

The International Atomic Energy Agency tweeted Sunday that Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has reported communication problems with staff operating at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian authorities have told the IAEA that regular staff continue to operate the plant, “but plant management is now under orders from commander of Russian forces controlling site.”

Russian police detain a protester in downtown Moscow on March 6.

At least 4,640 people were detained during protests in Russia on Sunday, OVD-Info, an independent monitoring group that tracks detentions in Russia, reports.

People have been detained in 147 cities, according to OVD-Info. Since the invasion, more than 13,000 people have been arrested in Russia in anti-war demonstrations, OVD-Info calculates.

CNN cannot independently verify these numbers.

Russian state news agency TASS cited the Russian Interior Ministry, which said it arrested 3,500 people “who took part in unauthorized public events” on Sunday. 

“The units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, ensured law and order in places where unauthorized public events were held in a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” Irina Volk, the official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry said, TASS reported.

Some of the cities where arrests were made included Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The detainees were “taken to the territorial police departments for investigation,” Volk said, adding “the issue of bringing them to justice is being decided.”

Ukrainian refugees rest in a tent after crossing the border into Medyka, Poland on March 6.

The Polish Border Patrol said that nearly one million people have been cleared to cross over the Polish border from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last month.

In a tweet on Sunday, the Polish Border Guards confirmed that “already 964 thousand people fleeing from Ukraine to Poland have been cleared at border crossings.”

A record number of over 129,000 refugees had crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border on Saturday alone, according to the Polish Permanent representation to the European Union.

The first emergency medical supply shipment from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders has arrived in Kyiv, the international humanitarian organization said in a statement.

The supplies include surgical kits, trauma kits, medications for chronic diseases and mass casualty supplies. They will be donated to local hospitals in the city and in other towns further east in Ukraine. 

“We may be in a race against time here — we have no certainty how long train access to Kyiv will remain possible. We chose to go with the train option for reasons of speed and the high volume capacity,” he added.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a joint press conference on March 1 in Tallinn, Estonia. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone on Sunday on the need to provide further defensive equipment to Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky and Johnson also discussed the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in the country.

Johnson “outlined what the UK is doing, both to provide humanitarian support and impose economic costs on Russia which strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine. This includes calling on other countries to take further action to remove Russia from SWIFT,” the spokesperson said.

The two leaders agreed to continue speaking, the spokesperson said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has voiced his “grave concern” about nuclear safety during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

A readout from the French Presidential Palace says Macron told Putin it was imperative concrete steps should be taken to address nuclear safety, security and safeguards.

The readout continued: “The (French) President also called for respect for international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and the delivery of aid. He reiterated the importance of a negotiated solution, fully acceptable to the Ukrainians.”

“Finally, the President of the Republic took advantage of this exchange to relay his concern about an imminent attack on the city of Odessa,” said the Elysee.

The Kyiv Regional Military Administration has appealed to international organizations for help in resolving a growing humanitarian crisis in the region. 

“We ask for a humanitarian corridor to help people affected by the warfare. For the sake of people’s lives and health, to ensure the immediate delivery of medical and food aid to those residents of Kyiv region who need it. And to ensure the evacuation of civilians,” the administration added,

It said: “The most difficult situation is on the territory from Borodyanka to Hostomel, it is worse than in Mariupol.”

Borodyanka and Hostomel, to the north of Kyiv, have seen intense shelling by Russian forces for several days.

Ukrainians have a plan for “continuity of government one way or another,” if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is killed, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“The Ukrainians have plans in place that I’m not going to talk about or get into any detail about to make sure that there is continuity of government one way or another, and I’m going to leave it at that,” Blinken said.

Blinken also complimented Zelensky for his “leadership” through this crisis.

“The leadership that President Zelensky has shown, the entire government has shown is remarkable, they’ve been the embodiment of these incredibly brave Ukrainian people,” Blinken said.

Antony Blinken 0306

Related article Blinken says US is working with European allies to look at 'prospect' of banning Russian oil imports

The Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted on Sunday, advising its citizens not to travel to Russia because of the “serious and unpredictable security situation in the wider region.”

More than 360 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began last month, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement Sunday.

So far, 1,123 civilians have been wounded, including 364 killed and 759 injured, OHCHR said, while acknowledging that the real figures are likely “considerably higher.”

CNN cannot independently verify the casualty numbers.

The data was collected between 4 a.m. Ukraine time on Feb. 24, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to midnight local time on March 5, the statement said. 

The total killed includes 74 men, 42 women, 8 boys, and 4 girls, as well as 13 children and 223 adults whose gender is not known. The total injured includes 67 men, 48 women, 11 girls, and 2 boys, as well as 28 children and 603 adults, per OHCHR. 

503 of the casualties were in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and 374 casualties in government-controlled territory, according to OHCHR. 

Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of “explosive weapons with a wide impact area,” the statement said, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.

The OHCHR added it believes the “real figures are considerably higher” especially in government-controlled territory in recent days from where data regarding casualties has been delayed.

After hearing from Ukrainian President Zelensky in a virtual meeting with American lawmakers on Saturday, Sen. Joe Manchin reiterated his support for cutting off the Russian oil sector from the US and said he wouldn’t take the option of a no-fly zone over Ukraine “off the table.”

Manchin called the Zoom meeting with Zelensky “surreal,” saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “all [Zelensky] asked for basically, just help me. I’ll fight my own flight, just give me the tools to do it, and for us to hesitate, for anyone to hesitate in the free world is wrong.”

Pressed specifically on Zelensky’s request for a no-fly zone, something top US and NATO officials have pushed back on, Manchin said, “I would take nothing off the table, but I would let it be very clear that we’re going to support the Ukrainian people.” 

Manchin emphasized that the Ukrainian president also asked for Western nations to help get more planes to his country to fight Russia.

“Zelensky very clearly said we don’t need you to fight our fight. We don’t need you to fly our planes or fly your planes into our war zone. We need the planes that we can fly ourselves, and we have them on the border,” he said.

The West Virginia Democrat again expressed his support for banning Russian oil imports, saying his constituents think “it’s basically foolish for us to keep buying products and giving profit, giving money, to Putin to be able to use against Ukrainian people.”

Some more context: Manchin and Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday to cut off Russian oil and increase US domestic production to make up for it.   

Addressing the potential economic impact of this move, Manchin said gas prices are already high and “it wasn’t because of this.”

“Inflation has already wreaked havoc on it now, and basically we’re gonna say we’re gonna sit back now because we’re afraid it might go up a little bit more, it might go up anyway. We have done nothing. I’m willing to least do something,” he said, adding that he thinks the US can both ramp up domestic energy production and transition to cleaner fuel technology at the same time.

Asked about the effect of the war in Europe on how his party approaches its climate agenda, part of President Biden’s social spending plan that Manchin effectively stalled last year, he answered, “I think it makes us more realistic. This is this is the real world. We keep talking these aspirational things we want to do, whether it’s the far left or right whatever it may be, forget about the aspiration.”

“Our energy that we produce in America is better and cleaner than anyplace else in the world, so anything that we backfill is going to be better than what they produce,” he said.

Manchin said no formal talks are going on right now about Biden’s spending plan.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 04: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol building on November 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Speaker Pelosi was asked about how the Biden administration's Build Back Better agenda affected Tuesday's election. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Related article 'Ban it': Bipartisan lawmakers call on Biden admin to end Russian oil imports

Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself “in a conflict he can’t win” and that puts Putin in a “very dangerous place,” US Senator Marco Rubio said Sunday.

Rubio, a Republican from Florida, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Putin has “engaged himself in a conflict that he can’t win.”

Rubio also called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to ban all Russian oil in the United States, a move that has bipartisan support.

“It makes no sense whatsoever to continue to buy oil from Russia that they use to fund this war and this murderous campaign that they’re undertaking,” he said. 

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Sunday the US has seen “very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians” in Ukraine that would be considered a war crime.

The assertion from Blinken follows US President Joe Biden’s comments last week that Russia was intentionally targeting civilians in attacks on Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also accused Russia of using cluster munitions and vacuum bombs – weapons that are banned under international law.

Russia has damaged the Donetsk-Mariupol pipeline, leaving over 700,000 people without heat while temperatures are below 0 degrees Celsius, Inna Sovsun, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, posted on Twitter Sunday.

Sovsun tweeted:

See Sovsun’s tweet here:

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during an emergency meeting of the General Assembly at UN headquarters on March 2.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Sunday identified three areas where the US could take additional steps to ramp up pressure on Russia as its war in Ukraine rages on: a ban on Russian oil imports, a declaration of war crimes, and help facilitating delivery of Polish fighter jets to Ukraine.

In separate answers in an interview on ABC News, Thomas-Greenfield mentioned those areas where the US was reviewing options and coordinating with allies.

She said President Biden was “in discussion with NATO allies” about a potential ban on Russian oil imports. “The President is working with his advisers, security advisers, as well as his energy advisers, on how to address these issues,” she said, adding the White House is mindful of how such a ban might affect gas prices.

She said the US has been “in close consultations with the Polish government, as well as with our other NATO allies,” on the notion of facilitating a transfer of Soviet-era fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine.

And she said the US was “working with our partners to collect and provide information” on potential war crimes.

“Any attack on civilians is a war crime,” she said. Earlier this week, Biden stopped short of calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine a war crime.

Read more here.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Region administration, said on Facebook Sunday that the convoy to evacuate locals residents from Mariupol was unable to leave the city.

“The convoy with humanitarian aid, which left Zaporizhzhya towards Mariupol today, has not yet reached its destination and is currently on its way,” Kyrrylenko added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Chisinau, Moldova on March 6.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the US is working with its allies in Europe to look into the possibility of banning Russian oil imports in an effort to further punish the country for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

“That’s a very active discussion as we speak,” Blinken added.

The US has already announced a slew of sanctions against Russia and President Vladimir Putin since the country’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last month. But the unprecedented step of sanctioning its oil exports would likely send prices skyrocketing, dealing a painful blow to consumers around the world as Russia is the world’s No. 2 oil producer.

Though the US consumes very little Russian oil – oil imports from Russia stood at just 90,000 barrels per day in December – the interconnected global market means supply shocks in one part of the world can impact prices everywhere.

Gas prices over six dollars a gallon on February 28, 2022 in Los Angeles.

Related article Analysis: Politicians are willing to pay the price of supporting Ukraine as higher gas costs bite consumers

The ICRC tweeted a series of statements on Sunday that evacuation attempts in Mariupol, Ukraine, have failed.

The ICRC wrote the following about evacuation efforts in Twitter posts:

See their initial tweet here:

Igor stands in the ruins of his home in Markhalivka, Ukraine.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th day, a CNN team in Markhalivka, southwest of Kyiv, spoke to a victim of the conflict.

Igor, who is 54, said that his 12-year-old daughter – who had disabilities and used a wheelchair – was killed in a strike that hit their village.

Igor’s wife, mother-in-law, two sons-in-law and his wife’s friend also died. Two of his grandchildren survived the attack, along with his cat, Marsik.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged his compatriots to keep up their resistance against Russian forces, as the invasion enters an 11th day.

Here’s what you need to know:

Ukrainian authorities say a convoy of buses to evacuate Mariupol residents is to leave the central city of Zaporizhzhya on Sunday. 

Officials say the column has assembled in Zaporizhzhya, three hours from Mariupol, a port city of some 400,000 people.

“We are supposed to accept a group of people from Mariupol in Zaporizhzhya to accommodate them and provide assistance, evacuate some of them further in Ukraine,” Starukh said.

Andriy Ignatov, a representative of the Mariupol City Council, said the violence continued Sunday in and around Mariupol. 

“The city administration of Mariupol is working on getting the green corridor, our government is working on all levels, so let’s hope that today the whole convoy can make it. Because we were getting ready to do it yesterday, but unfortunately our enemy or opponent did not let us evacuate people, although people were already getting in lines ready to evacuate. I hope today we’ll have a breather that will allow us to evacuate civilians.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the airport in Vynnytsia has been destroyed.

Zelensky, on camera in a video posted to Twitter, says: “I was informed just now about a rocket strike against Vynnytsia. 8 rockets.

“Against our peaceful and goodhearted Vynnytsia which has never threatened Russia in any way. A rocket strike - cruel and cynical. The airport has been fully destroyed.”

“They continue to ruin our infrastructure, our life, which we have built, and our parents, and grandparents, many generations of Ukrainians.

This is also the responsibility of politicians of the world, Western leaders, from today and forever,” says Zelensky.

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

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

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

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

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “an urgent general ceasefire would not only ease the humanitarian concerns in the region, but also provide an opportunity to seek a political solution,” and urged Putin to “pave the way for peace together,” in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

According to the Turkish presidency, Erdogan said that Turkey “stood ready to make all kinds of contributions for the Ukraine problem to be resolved as soon as possible by peaceful means.”

The Turkish president mentioned that he was in constant contact with the Ukrainian side and other countries and added “he would continue his efforts for comprehensive negotiations to be held, and to achieve results.”

Ukrainian president Zelensky tweeted on Friday that he is having regular talks with Erdogan, and he is: “Grateful to Turkey for the consistent support. Informed about the ongoing aggression and nuclear terrorism on the part of the Russian Federation. We must achieve an end to hostilities.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is preparing to bomb Odessa, a strategically important port city on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

“Russian people always used to come to Odessa and they only knew warmth and generosity and what’s now? Artillery, bombs against Odessa. This will be a war crime. This will be historic crime”, Zelensky said in a broadcast address on Facebook.

Switching from speaking Ukrainian to Russian, Zelensky appealed to the Russian people to make a choice “between life and slavery.”

“We are Ukrainians. We need peace. We want peace. And for Russian citizens it’s not only the fight for peace in Ukraine but for your peace and for your freedom. You used to see it. You knew prosperity…If you will be silent now, then only your poverty will speak for you”, Zelensky continued.

Pope Francis speaks from his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Sunday, March 6.

Speaking on Sunday during the Angelus address from his window on St. Peter’s Square, Francis said that the Vatican is willing to do “everything” it can for peace in Ukraine.

Francis said he has sent two cardinals to Ukraine to assist humanitarian efforts, “not only as a sign of the presence of the Pope,” Francis said, “but of all people who want to say ‘war is madness, please stop, look at this cruelty!’”

The Pope called for a “return to respecting international law” and urged that evacuation corridors be opened so civilians can escape the conflict.

Francis also thanked journalists who “risked their lives” to report on the war.

“Thank you brothers and sisters,” he said to journalists, “for this service which allows us to be near the drama of the people and to see the cruelty of war.”

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, third from right, meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Chisinau, Moldova on March 6.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said her country is “firmly committed” to European integration and stressed her desire for the nation to obtain European Union membership.

Gavrilita made the remarks in a news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. Secretary Blinken is traveling in the country to meet with government officials during the refugee crisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to Gavrilita, more than 230,000 people have crossed over the Moldovan border from Ukraine, with 120,000 staying in the country.

“For a small country like Moldova proportionately this is a very large number. And managing such an influx because only been possible because of the extraordinary solidarity shown by every person, every company, every nongovernmental organization. Everybody has come together to host to provide shelter to provide food to provide assistance to those who are fleeing war,” she said.

Gavrilita also added that the country was continuing its pursuit of EU membership, saying: “we have submitted our application on the third of March”

“And as we embark on this journey, we know that we can count on the friendship on the strong support with the United States.”

The UK Ministry of Defense has said that Russia is targeting populated areas in Ukraine, “likely” as an effort to break Ukrainian morale.

“The scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance continues to surprise Russia. It has responded by targeting populated areas in multiple locations, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update on Ukraine Sunday.

“This is likely to represent an effort to break Ukrainian morale,” it added.

Russia has previously used similar tactics in Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016, employing both air and ground-based munitions, the ministry added.

“Russian supply lines reportedly continue to be targeted, slowing the rate of advance of their ground forces. There is a realistic possibility that Russia is now attempting to conceal fuel trucks as regular support trucks to minimize losses,” the ministry concluded.

Russian military vehicles seen in Kherson.

Related article 'They shoot at anyone who tries to leave.' Ukrainians describe terror of living under Russian occupation

Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Premier League football club Chelsea, said it was “not the moment to give other messages” after fans chanted the name of the club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich during a tribute to Ukraine.

A minute of applause was held ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League game against Burnley Saturday, during which chants of Abramovich’s name could be heard on a Sky Sports broadcast.

The chants were soon drowned out by boos from the stands.

“It’s not the moment to give other messages, it’s a moment to show respect. We do this because this is what we are also as a club, we show respect as a club. We need our fans to commit to this minute of applause in the moment.

“We do it for Ukraine, there is no second opinion about the situation there. They have our thoughts and our support, and we should stand together as a club.”

Read the full story:

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 05: Players, officials and fans take part in a minute of applause to indicate peace and sympathy with Ukraine prior to the Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on March 05, 2022 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Related article Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel condemns Roman Abramovich chant during tribute to Ukraine

There has been heavy shelling to the west and north-west of Kyiv on Sunday morning. The impact of explosions was heard by CNN teams in Kyiv and in rural areas to the south-west.

Two mortar or artillery shells hit a checkpoint for civilians to cross into Kyiv from the suburb of Irpin. Three people were reported killed, say Ukrainian authorities, including two children.

Social media video showed extensive destruction in Irpin, which is just northwest of Kyiv, on Sunday.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser in the Ukrainian President’s Office said: “They [Russian troops] captured Hostomel and Bucha yesterday (Saturday).The Russians entered there.

“They have injured many children and do not allow to evacuate them, despite numerous appeals at the highest state level to provide a “green corridor” from Bucha and Irpin. There are many children in the basements.”

“There are basements where 70 children are sitting now and they are not being released. This is a catastrophe both from the humanitarian and, above all, from the moral point of view,” Arestovych said, adding that the issue was being discussed “at the highest level with international humanitarian institutions.”

Several children have died, according to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

A maternity hospital not far from the front lines in Kyiv has become a clinic treating wounded soldiers and people injured in Russian strikes.

The head of the hospital, who asked for his name and the name of the facility to remain private over security fears, said many of his staff are now essentially living in the hospital — some with their families — and working around the clock trying to help victims.

“Currently, we have no maternity patients, but we have a lot of wounded local citizens and soldiers. Local people come to us when they need help with food and medicine, and we provide all urgent health care. The numbers are going up and people come 24/7,” he said. The hospital head added that that patients including women have been coming in with serious injuries in recent days.

For now, he said, the hospital is coping, despite normally specializing in maternity care.“We are well equipped for now, but the problem is that the number of people who are coming to us is increasing, and it’s really a lot of people with serious injuries and we don’t have enough staff if the numbers keep going up.”

He said the hospital is trying to secure equipment and materials that are intended for treating serious military wounds, something the hospital doesn’t normally stock in larger quantities.

At the same time, the hospital continues serving its core patients. 20 babies have been born here since the invasion started 10 days ago — all of them safe and healthy.

“They all went either home or traveled to western Ukraine,” the hospital’s chief said.

A district to the northwest of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has issued an urgent appeal for help amid intense shelling by Russian forces.

The district of Bucha has been at the center of fighting for more than a week.

“The enemy continues to shell all quarters in Bucha mercilessly: every day is the struggle for survival,” the city council said on Facebook Sunday.

“There is no electricity, heat, communication, internet,” it said.

Every day we receive thousands of messages from the residents of Bucha and settlements of the community about the need for food, water, restoration of communications.”

Videos from the area in recent days show extensive damage and the wreckage of military vehicles.

A woman feeds a child as they and other refugees from Ukraine rest at a temporary shelter in the main train station of Krakow, Poland on March 6.

More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in 10 days, UN refugee agency commissioner Filippo Grandi said Sunday.

In a Twitter post, Grandi called it “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.”

Meanwhile, Germany’s interior ministry told CNN that nearly 38,000 people have arrived in the country from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24.

German Federal Police registered 37,786 refugees from the war-torn nation as of Sunday, an interior ministry spokesperson told CNN.

However, given the absence of border checks between Poland and Germany, the actual number of incoming people could be significantly higher, the ministry said.

Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser told German newspaper “Bild am Sonntag” that Germany would host refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine no matter what their nationality.

A boy from Zaporizhzhia, southeast Ukraine, was hailed “a hero of the night” by Slovakian authorities after they said he crossed Ukraine’s border into Slovakia on his own.

The 11-year-old was carrying a backpack, a plastic bag and a passport, and had a telephone number written on his hand, according to the Slovak Ministry of Interior. CNN could not independently verify those statements.

The statement, posted on the ministry’s Facebook page Saturday, said that thanks to the information written on the boy’s hand and on a piece of paper that was folded in his passport, the staff at the border were able to get in touch with the boy’s relatives in Slovakia who were then able to come and collect him.

“He won over everyone with his smile, fearlessness and determination worthy of a real hero,” the statement said. It is unclear why the boy was unaccompanied.

CNN could not independently verify this individual case but more than 1.2 million refugees have now left Ukraine since February 24, according to the UN as of March 3. Of the 1,209,976 refugees who have fled, a majority of them, 53.7%, crossed into Poland.

Others have gone to countries including Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

An evacuation crossing point for civilians trying to escape the Irpin district west of Kyiv was shelled Sunday morning.

International media were filming at the location when what appears to have been an artillery shell landed.

At the time a stream of civilians was coming through the checkpoint.

Media organizations at the scene of the explosion near Irpin say at least three civilians have been killed, including two children.

CNN cannot independently confirm the casualties.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed “several attacks on health care [centers] in Ukraine, causing multiple deaths and injuries,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday.

“Additional reports are being investigated,” Tedros said on his verified Twitter account, without mentioning Russia. “Attacks on healthcare facilities or workers breach medical neutrality and are violations of international humanitarian law,” he added.

So far, the WHO has confirmed six attacks to health care facilities, the head of the WHO office in Ukraine, Jarno Habicht, told the BBC on Sunday.

What is important is to “respect the humanitarian law as well to ensure safe corridors because the health needs of people are increasing daily and every hour, and it’s very, very important to ensure that there is a safe passage of trauma and surgery goods,” he added.

Habicht also said the work of health care workers is increasingly difficult due to the military offensive, with many of them now working in bomb shelters.

Habicht described the situation as “quite devastating,” since the health care system is already “relatively stretched” and facing multiple health challenges, including Covid-19.

Humanitarian corridors in the southeastern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha will be opened again today, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Some skepticism over the routes has grown after Ukrainian authorities paused evacuations of civilians Saturday, citing Russian violations of a ceasefire.

“In the morning, humanitarian corridors will again be opened both in Mariupol and Volnovakha,” Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the so-called People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic told reporters, TASS reported.

Civilians in the battered Ukrainian port city of Mariupol are trapped without power and water and unable to recover their dead, its mayor said Saturday, as he accused Russia of trying to “choke” the city by shutting off agreed evacuation routes.

Russia agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday to allow civilians to safely leave Mariupol and Volnovakha, where residents have endured days of heavy, indiscriminate shelling.

But evacuations were paused, with Ukrainian authorities accusing Russia of violating the agreement by resuming its attacks, leaving thousands of civilians trapped in what people on the ground describe as increasingly dire conditions.

Another attempt to open a humanitarian corridor for civilians in the city of Mariupol will begin at 12 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET), the Governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said Sunday on his official Twitter account.

A ceasefire will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time Sunday, Kyrylenko said.

Hundreds of protesters gather in Taipei’s Liberty Square on Sunday in solidarity with Ukraine. 

Hundreds of people gathered in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, on Sunday to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Among the demonstrators were Ukrainians living in Taiwan and Taiwanese lawmakers. They waved Ukraine and Taiwan flags, and held placards reading “no war” and “Taiwan stands with Ukraine.”

Anatolii Bakurov, a Ukrainian who has lived in Taiwan for 10 years, said while some people often compared Taiwan with Ukraine, he is more optimistic about the future of Taiwan.

The protest was held at Liberty Square, a gathering ground in Taipei that played a key role in Taiwan’s transition from one-party rule to a democracy in the 1990s.

Some context: Taiwan has pledged its support for Ukraine, recently announcing it would donate 27 tons of medical supplies to the country. While there may be parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine — both are Western-friendly democracies whose status quo could be upended by powerful autocracies — experts question how much Beijing could glean from the spiraling crisis in Ukraine when it comes any future actions toward Taiwan.

In Taiwan’s case, China’s Communist Party seeks eventual “reunification” with the self-ruled island it claims as its territory despite having never governed it — and has not ruled out doing so by force.

South Korea will impose export controls against Belarus for its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

The export control will apply in a similar way to the one it earlier imposed on Moscow, the ministry said in a news release. In February, South Korea blocked exports of strategic goods to Russia.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia will hold a third round of talks tomorrow, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on his official Facebook account.

Russian state news agency TASS reported Sunday that Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky confirmed during a live stream at the Soloviev Live YouTube channel that the third round of talks will take place on March 7. 

Arakhamia and Slutsky didn’t say where the negotiations would take place. 

Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze in Chernihiv, Ukraine on March 5.

A defense operation is ongoing in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the general staff of the country’s armed forces said Sunday in its latest operational update.

Ukrainian Armed Forces also “stopped enemy columns trying to advance towards Dnipropetrovsk region from Balakliya,” according to the statement.  

An operation to defend the northern city of Chernihiv is underway in the Siverskyi region, the Ukrainian military said. 

And in the southern Mykolayiv area, “capture of a considerable quantity of armored and automobile equipment of the enemy was planned and realized.”

The butchery of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has been in plain view via saturation coverage for anyone with a video screen. But Americans may not yet have absorbed this disturbing reality: The American president who left office just 14 months ago sided with the butcher.

That’s right: In the struggle now uniting the free world against an autocrat’s lawless aggression, America’s most recent ex-President sided with the autocrat.

It’s not just that former President Donald Trump recently hailed the “genius” of Putin’s strike against Ukraine. Since his political career began, Trump has backed Putin in ways connected directly to the Russian’s quest to subjugate that country.

For years, relations between Russia and the celebrity real estate executive were lubricated by money. There was the development financing Trump’s sons boasted about, the Palm Beach mansion he sold to a Russian oligarch for $95 million four years after buying it for $41 million, the Manhattan project in association with a mob-linked Russian émigré.

He sought to place a Trump Tower in Moscow even as he ran for president. In 2013, when he staged a beauty pageant there, Trump asked on Twitter: “Will (Putin) become my new best friend?”

But things haven’t worked out as either Trump or Putin wanted.

Read the full analysis:

US President Donald Trump (L) chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on November 11, 2017. (Photo by Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Analysis: Trump has been on Putin's side in Ukraine's long struggle against Russian aggression

Oleksandra Zhovtyuk is sheltering with her three young children in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, southern Ukraine.

A mother of three seeking shelter at her grandmother’s home in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, southern Ukraine tells CNN there is not much left in terms of food or medical supplies.

She also never thought she would have to teach her young children how to hide from bombs, she said.

“We are feeling isolated from the rest of, Ukraine right now,” said Oleksandra Zhovtyuk, adding they do not go outside because Russian soldiers won’t let then drive through or out of town, or let aid in.

Zhovtyuk’s eldest child is 7 years old and already understands what is going on. “She wakes up at night, she cries, and she asked me when it will be over,” she said.

Zhovtyuk worries what the war is doing to her 18-month old. “With all of this atmosphere, he seems very bad at night, and cries and he wants to be with me all the time, because he feels that something is going on,” she said.

Speaking from her shelter, Zhovtyuk said she tells her eldest child that “we have to be strong right now, we need to be together right now, and she needs to listen to me.”

The children sleep in the corridor as it’s the safest part of the house when the shelling starts — their beds are too unsafe, she said.

Some context: Kherson, a key port city on an inlet of the Black Sea was overrun by Russian forces in the early hours of Wednesday, after days of heavy bombardment and shelling. Its mayor, Ihor Kolykhaiev, said Saturday the 300,000 residents had no more weapons to resist Russian troops, adding the city was without power and water and in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

Destroyed buildings seen in the video footage.

Video published on social media Saturday shows parts of a Ukrainian tank factory outside of Zhytomyr — about 140 kilometers (about 85 miles) west of Kyiv — has been leveled after Russian military strikes at the complex. 

The video, geolocated and its authenticity verified by CNN, surfaced initially on pro-Russian Telegram channels, which are using it to bolster claims that Russia is “demilitarizing” Ukraine. 

While Russia has conducted military strikes on Ukrainian military positions during the invasion, CNN has identified a number of civilian complexes, apartment buildings, schools and markets across Ukraine that have been hit by the Russian military.

Zhytomyr has been the site of intense shelling in recent days.

What the video shows: In the clip, Ukrainian soldiers survey the damage at the factory and one appears to recount how he and others survived. Many of the buildings that once made up the Zhytomyr Armored Plant complex are leveled.  

“Well, that’s what flew into us last night,” a soldier is heard saying as they walk through the bombed out complex.

His comments suggest the Ukrainian soldiers had taken refuge at the plant overnight.

“I want to show you something,” he said, walking down one of the roadways at the complex. “See how much the Russians love us?”

As he continues walking, more and more broken window panes are seen. Then, a destroyed building comes into view.

Reduced to rubble: The buildings that once stood in the eastern part of the complex are now mangled heaps of metal and concrete. The soldier continues walking, noting he’s passing by pieces of unassembled tanks.

Then, the sound of a jet can be heard. It gets louder then fades away as he nears the location where he believes the massive explosion that tore apart the complex happened.  

“That’s where it hit,” he says. “We were standing here.”  

Some context: The plant is part of the state-run Ukroboronprom defense conglomerate and was involved in making, refurbishing and modernizing armored vehicles, including tracked infantry and armored personnel carriers. According to Ukroboronprom, the plant also assembled other machinery for civilian purposes such as forestry.

Ukraine’s President has urged his compatriots to keep up their resistance against Russian forces, as the invasion enters an 11th day and Putin’s forces advance on key Ukrainian cities.

Here’s the latest:

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

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

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

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

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

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

A file photo of a Polish Air Force MIG-29 seen at 22nd Air Base Command in Malbork, Poland on August 27, 2021.

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

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

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

Two lawmakers participating in a Zoom call with the Ukrainian President on Saturday said Zelensky indicated Poland had signaled it is prepared to send MiG fighter jets but “they are only waiting for you [the US] to allow it.”

Ukrainian authorities say thousands of civilians remained trapped in the southeastern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha and have accused Russian forces of breaching an agreement to pause fire to allow safe passage out.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said earlier Saturday it would stop bombarding Mariupol and Volnovakha, which have endured days of heavy, indiscriminate shelling. Residents there have hunkered down in basements without power and with limited supplies of food and water, volunteers gathering information from the ground told CNN.

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

Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, said Saturday that about 200,000 people were to be evacuated from Mariupol and a further 15,000 from Volnovakha.

Kyrylenko said 400 people were evacuated from Volnovakha and surrounding villages on Saturday, adding that while the authorities “intended to evacuate a much larger number of people, the convoy had to stop moving as the Russians resumed the ruthless shelling of Volnovakha and it was extremely dangerous to move there.”

Meanwhile, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in a statement that just as the city was ready to begin evacuations of its residents to Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, Russian forces “began shelling along the corridor, where we were supposed to go.”

Kherson, a key port city on the Black Sea, in southern Ukraine, was overrun by Russian forces in the early hours of Wednesday, after days of heavy bombardment and shelling. The Ukrainian flag was still hoisted on government buildings, and the mayor of the city, Ihor Kolykhaiev, remained in his post.

On Saturday, Kolykhaiev announced that Russian troops were everywhere, and the city of nearly 300,000 people was without power and water, and in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

Kolykhaiev said that the Russian forces had “settled in” to the city, and showed no signs of leaving.

People living in Kherson under Russian occupation describe days of terror confined to their apartments and houses, fearful to go outside for even basic necessities — their city now a dystopian shell of the home they knew and loved.

Checkpoints manned by Russian troops pepper the city’s streets, five Kherson residents told CNN in recent phone calls. The roads are virtually empty because inhabitants have either fled the fighting, or are staying indoors for fear of encountering Russian soldiers. Grocery stores have been emptied and medicine is running out, residents and officials said.

Russian troops have encircled the city and are shooting at anyone who attempts to leave, according to the residents, including a top local health official who CNN is not naming for security reasons.

On Thursday, Russian forces shot two men at a checkpoint after they attempted to pass, killing one and seriously wounding the other, the official told CNN.

Andriy Abba, who works as a tax lawyer, says he is determined to stay in Kherson regardless of the occupation, for as long as the Ukrainian flag remains flying on government buildings.

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Russian military vehicles seen in Kherson.

Related article 'They shoot at anyone who tries to leave.' Ukrainians describe terror of living under Russian occupation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Volodymyr Bondarenko spends most of his day holed up in his apartment in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Between listening for air-raid sirens and frantically messaging family for updates, he trades messages with a flurry of Airbnb guests booking his one-bedroom rental in the heart of Ukraine’s capital.

Sometimes, he sends a crying emoji. Other times, the praying hands emoji. It’s his way of thanking those who are booking his apartment — even though they have no intention of ever showing up at his door.

Airbnb hosts in Ukraine are being flooded with bookings from people all over the world who have no plans to visit. It’s part of a creative social media campaign to funnel money to besieged Ukrainians who need financial assistance as Russian forces bombard their country and cut off services.

The idea has picked up momentum. On March 2 and March 3, guests from around the world booked more than 61,000 nights in Ukraine, according to an Airbnb spokesperson. More than half of those nights were booked by Americans, the spokesperson said.

CNN spoke to people in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia who’ve booked Ukrainian rentals on Airbnb in recent days.

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airbnb

Related article People around the world are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine. They don't plan to check in

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a series of threats against Ukraine and Western powers Saturday, as Ukrainian officials accused Russia of shelling evacuation routes out of two battered cities.

Ukrainian authorities said thousands of civilians remained trapped in the southeastern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha and accused Russian forces of breaching an agreement to pause fire to allow safe passage out.

Putin, meanwhile, used a meeting with Russian flight crew members at an Aeroflot training center in Moscow, to make his first expansive remarks since the invasion nine days ago.

Putin also said Western sanctions were the “equivalent of a declaration of war,” and warned he would consider countries imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participants in a military conflict.”

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

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

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

Read more:

Fire is seen after an attack at a residential area in Mariupol, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine on March 3, 2022.

Related article Civilian evacuation delayed as Ukraine accuses Russia of breaching agreement to pause fire | CNN