Live updates: Russia being banned from U.S. airspace

The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war:

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden plans to announce that the U.S. is banning Russian planes from its airspace in retaliation for the Ukraine invasion, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The announcement follows similar actions by Canada and the European Union and is set to come during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the address.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Defence Ministry says it has evidence that Belarus, a Russian ally, is preparing to send troops into Ukraine.

The ministry statement, posted on Facebook at midnight, said the Belarussian troops have been brought into combat readiness and are concentrated close to Ukraine’s northern border.

“During the past 24 hours, according to intelligence findings, there has been significant aircraft activity. In addition, there has been movement of a column of vehicles with food and ammunition” approaching the border,” the statement said.

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IRVING, Texas — ExxonMobil says it will not invest in new developments in Russia because of Russian military attacks on Ukraine.

The company said in a statement it supports the people of Ukraine as they seek to “defend their freedom and determine their own future as a nation.”

ExxonMobil operates the Sakhalin-1 project on behalf of an international consortium of Japanese, Indian and Russian companies. The company says that in response to recent events, they are beginning the process to discontinue operations and developing steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 venture.

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KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike hit a residential area near a hospital late Tuesday in Zhytomyr, a city about 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of Ukraine’s capital, Mayor Serih Sukhomlin said in a Facebook video.

Ukraine’s emergency services said the strike killed at least two people, set three homes on fire and broke the windows in the hospital.

Zhytomyr is the home of the elite 95th Air Assault Brigade, which may have been the intended target.

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CHICAGO -- United Airlines said Wednesday it has stopped using Russian airspace for flights between the US and Mumbai and Delhi in India.

An airline spokesperson called the move “temporary,” but gave no further details.

American Airlines has avoided Russian airspace for flights between Delhi and New York by flying south of Russia.

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MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says his government will not impose any economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The president often cites a guiding principle of nonintervention in foreign affairs.

He said Tuesday that “we want to maintain good relations with all the world’s governments, and we want to be in a position to be able to speak with all parties to the conflict.”

Russian investment in Mexico is estimated at some US$132 million and the bilateral trade at more than $2.4 billion.

López Obrador also sounded off on the censoring of some Russia media outlets and called on Twitter to answer accusations that it is removing messages favorable to Russia. In his words, “We can’t be speaking of freedom and at the same time limiting freedom of expression.”

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Republican politicians across the US are criticizing President Joe Biden over his domestic energy policies and urging his administration to do more to embrace domestic production.

The sanctions imposed by the US and its allies on Russia for its war with Ukraine so far do not include oil and gas exports from the country, a step that would have severely hurt Russia’s ability to generate revenue.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and US Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio both urged Biden on Tuesday to take steps to stop Russian oil imports to the US.

“The recent events in Ukraine are yet another example of why we should be selling energy to our friends and not buying it from our enemies,” Stitt wrote to Biden.

Portman said it doesn’t make sense to import Russian oil at the same time the Biden administration shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have transported tens of thousands of barrels each day from Canada to US refineries.

Cutting off Russian oil and gas imports could drive prices at the pump higher and have even more serious consequences for US allies in Europe, which relies on natural gas from Russia for a third of its fossil fuel consumption.

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WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden says that dictators who do not “pay a price for their aggression” cause more chaos.

According to excerpts released Tuesday ahead of his first State of the Union address, Biden says that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked.

He will also highlight the importance of European allies in the speech before Congress at the US Capitol on Tuesday evening. Biden says that the alliance established after World War II to secure “peace and stability” in Europe is just as relevant now.

He said that Putin believed he could divide the NATO alliance, but he was wrong.

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CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple has stopped selling its iPhone and other popular products in Russia as part of an intensifying corporate crackdown spurred by the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The trendsetting Silicon Valley company disclosed its punitive measures in a statement Tuesday amid worldwide outrage over Russian President Vladmir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.

Other major US companies, including prominent tech firms such as Google and Twitter, also have curtailed their business in Russia. But Apple’s actions could sharpen the backlash.

The iPhone and other devices such as the iPad and Mac computer are prized products for work and leisure. In the final three months of last year, for instance, Apple sold more smartphones than any other company in the world, according to the research firm International Data Corp, which didn’t break out sales within Russia.

Apple also doesn’t disclose how much of its roughly $365 billion in annual revenue comes from Russia either.

Besides halting sales of its devices, Apple said its mobile app store is blocking downloads of RT News and Sputnik News from outside Russia. It also has stopped live traffic updates on Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety measure, mirroring action Google has already taken.

“We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking,” Apple said in its statement. “We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.”

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UNITED NATIONS — The UN General Assembly will vote Wednesday afternoon on a resolution demanding that Russia immediately stop using force against Ukraine and withdraw all its military forces. The resolution also would condemn Moscow’s decision “to increase the readiness of its nuclear forces.”

So far, the resolution has 92 co-sponsors from all over the world, including Afghanistan and Myanmar, both of which saw their elected governments ousted last year.

After Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution last Friday demanding that Russia immediately stop its use of force and send its forces home, the US and other supporters started the procedural steps to call an emergency special session of the General Assembly where there are no vetoes.

The council approved an emergency special session of the 193-member assembly on Monday — the first in decades — and it began on Tuesday.

With 118 speakers signed up, the meeting was continuing Tuesday and is expected to wrap up on Wednesday morning, with the United States one of the last speakers. The resolution will then be put to a vote in the afternoon, General Assembly spokesperson Paulina Kubiak said Tuesday.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but they do have clout as a reflection of international opinion.

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WASHINGTON — The US on Tuesday injected a strong note of caution into the persistent reports that Russian military progress — including by the massive convoy outside Kyiv — has slowed, plagued by food and fuel shortages and logistical problems.

One senior Defence official said that the US has seen Russian military columns literally run out of gas, and in some places running out of food, and that morale is suffering as a result.

But the official added that it is important to be pragmatic. The Russians still have a significant amount of combat power that has not yet been tapped, and “they will regroup, they will adjust, they will change their tactics.”

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments. Overall, the US assesses that Russia has launched more than 400 missiles into Ukraine, of various types and sizes. As of Tuesday, the Ukrainian air and missile defence systems remain viable and are being used. Also, weapons from the US and others continues to flow into Ukraine. The official said that the aid is getting to the Ukrainian military and troops are “actively using these systems.”

The official said Russians have made progress in the south, moving along two routes out of Crimea – one to the northeast and one to the northwest. It’s not clear that Russians have taken control of Kherson, but heavy fighting continues. And, the official said Russian forces have not yet advanced into Mariupol, but are close enough to strike into the city with long-range weapons.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia should stop its bombardment of Ukraine before more talks on ending the war are held.

Ukrainian and Russian officials have held one round of talks since the six-day-long war began and reportedly are planning more.

“As for dialogue, I think yes, but stop bombarding people first and start negotiating afterwards,“ Zelensky said in a joint interview Tuesday with CNN and the Reuters news agency.

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KYIV — Ukraine has effectively asked that Russia be kicked off the internet.

In a letter sent Monday to the president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Ukraine’s deputing minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, cited the “atrocious crimes” of Russia’s invasion, including it’s alleged breach of the Geneva Conventions in attacking civilian targets.

Federov said the crimes “have been made possible mainly due to the Russian propaganda machinery” and cited cyberattacks “from the Russian side” that have impeded the ability of Ukrainians and their government to communicate.

“Russian citizens must feel the cost of war,” government spokesperson Oleksandr Ryzhenko said Tuesday.

ICANN had no immediate comment but the regional internet naming authority for Europe and the former Soviet Union, RIPE NCC, rejected the request.

In an email to members, RIPE’s executive board said it believes “the means to communicate should not be affected by domestic political disputes, international conflicts or war.”

Kicking Russia off the internet would be an annoyance to Russian hackers but it wouldn’t stop them since they could still use different top-level internet domains. But it would badly isolate the Russian public from international discourse.

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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree that prohibits taking more than $10,000 worth of foreign currency in cash and “monetary instruments” out of Russia.

The move comes in response to the crippling sanctions Western nations have imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which this week tanked the ruble and sent Russians flocking to banks and ATM in fear for the fate of their savings.

Other measures Putin ordered this week included obligating Russian exporters to sell 80% of their revenues in foreign currency, prohibiting Russian residents from providing non-residents with foreign currency under loan agreements and from depositing foreign currency into foreign bank accounts.

Federov asked that ICANN revoke, permanently or temporarily, the domains .ru and .su and shut down the root servers in Moscow and St. Petersburg that match domain names and numbers.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court has scheduled hearings next week into a request by Ukraine for the court to order Moscow to halt its invasion.

Kyiv filed a case with the International Court of Justice on Saturday accusing Russia of planning genocide in Ukraine and asking for urgent “provisional measures” instructing Moscow to halt hostilities.

Lawyers for Ukraine will present arguments March 7 supporting its request. Russia’s lawyers will be given time to respond on March 8.

Ahead of the hearings, the court’s president, US Judge Joan E. Donoghue, sent an urgent message Tuesday to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underscoring the necessity for Russia to “act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.”

The International Court of Justice rules in disputes between states. It often takes years to reach decisions, but orders on provisional measures are often delivered quickly.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United States says it is expelling a Russian “intelligence operative” working for the United Nations, in addition to the 12 members of the Russian Mission to the United Nations whose expulsions were ordered Monday for engaging in espionage.

The UN was informed Monday that the US was taking action to expel a staff member working for the UN Secretariat, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed.

“We regret that we find ourselves in this situation but are engaging with the host country,” he said Tuesday.

Dujarric refused to comment further on grounds of privacy and the sensitivity of the issue but did say “what makes this decision a little difficult to understand is that the staff member was scheduled to end his assignment on March 14.”

The US Mission to the United Nations said in a statement Monday that the 12 Russian diplomats had “abused their privileges of residency in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security.”

A spokesperson for the US Mission said Tuesday: “On Feb. 28, the United States also initiated the process to require the departure of one Russian intelligence operative working at the United Nations who has abused their privileges of residence in the United States.” The spokesperson was not authorized to speak publicly and commented on condition of anonymity.

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JERUSALEM — Holocaust remembrance organizations in Israel are condemning a Russian attack that inflicted damage to the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement denouncing the incident, and said Israel would help repair any damage. “We are calling for the preservation and respect for this sacred site,” he said in a tweet that did not mention Russia by name.

The memorial is the site of a massacre of more than 33,000 Jews by Nazi Germany in 1941. It is located on the outskirts of Kyiv and adjacent to the city’s TV tower, where Ukrainian authorities said a Russian attack killed five people.

A spokesman for the memorial said that damage was caused to the Jewish cemetery at the site, but that assessing the full extent of the damage would have to wait until daylight.

The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial’s chairman, Natan Sharansky, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “seeks to distort and manipulate the Holocaust to justify an illegal invasion of a sovereign democratic country is utterly abhorrent. It is symbolic that he starts attacking Kyiv by bombing the site of the Babyn Yar, the biggest of Nazi massacres.”

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, expressed “vehement condemnation” and called on the international community to take action “to safeguard civilian lives as well as these historical sites.”

“Rather than being subjected to blatant violence, sacred sites like Babi Yar must be protected,” it said.

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MOSCOW — A top radio station critical of the Kremlin was taken off the airwaves on Tuesday, its chief editor said and the Associated Press confirmed, after the authorities threatened to shut it down over the coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move against Echo Moskvy, one of Russia’s oldest radio stations that critical of the authorities, comes amid growing pressure on Russia’s independent media to cover the attack on Ukraine in accordance to the official line.

Officials on Tuesday have also threatened to block Dozhd, Russia’s top independent TV channel. The Prosecutor General’s office claimed the two outlets spread content inciting extremist activities, as well as “false information regarding the actions of Russian military personnel as part of a special operation” in Ukraine.

Shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine, Russian officials threatened independent media with closure if their coverage of the attack deviates from the official narrative, including describing the assualt as an “invasion” or “a war”.

The website of the Current Time, a Russian TV channel launched by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that has been critical of the Kremlin, became unavailable Sunday after the channel reported receiving a notification from the authorities.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote to President Joe Biden on Tuesday, urging Biden’s administration to halt the importation of Russian oil and natural gas and embrace domestic production.

In his letter, the Republican also urged Biden’s administration to support the construction of more domestic oil and gas infrastructure, including pipelines to transport natural gas to the East Coast.

“The recent events in Ukraine are yet another example of why we should be selling energy to our friends and not buying it from our enemies,” Stitt wrote.

The oil and natural gas industry is a huge driver of Oklahoma’s economy, supporting nearly 390,000 jobs and providing more than US$32.7 billion in annual wages in 2019, according to a report from the American Petroleum Institute.

“It is unfathomable and inexcusable that some Americans are forced to depend on Vladimir Putin for their energy needs as he wages war against Ukraine instead of their own country,” Stitt wrote.

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an immediate cease-fire between the Russian and Ukrainian forces.

“Our call to both Russia and Ukraine is: let the firing stop as soon as possible, let Russia and Ukraine make a beautiful contribution to peace,” Erdogan said Tuesday during a joint news conference with Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, on Tuesday.

The Turkish leader said Turkey welcomes overtures by European Union officials toward Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application to join the bloc. He however, urged the EU to “show the same sensitivity” toward Turkey. The country is a candidate to join the EU but its accession talks have been stalled over a number of issues, including the country’s democratic backtracking.

“Are you going to bring Turkey’s (application) on the agenda when someone declares war on it and attacks?” Erdogan said.

Erdogan reiterated that Turkey, which has the second largest army within the alliance, supports NATO’s expansion.

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BERLIN — Local authorities in Switzerland are indicating that the company that ran Nord Stream 2 AG, the pipeline that was built to bring Russian gas to Germany and was halted last week, is close to bankruptcy.

Switzerland’s economy minister said on Monday that Nord Stream 2 had dismissed all the employees at its Zug, Switzerland, headquarters.

On Monday, the head of the Zug regional government’s economy department, Silvia Thalmann-Gut, told Swiss outlet Blick TV that “this isn’t a mass dismissal — it’s a mass dismissal if a company would continue to exist. But in this case, it’s a bankruptcy.”

She said she was informed that 100-110 employees were affected, rather than the 140 that the economy minister cited.

The Zug economy department later told German news agency dpa that Nord Stream 2 has “massive payment difficulties” because of sanctions but that no bankruptcy has yet been registered.

In an email, Nord Stream 2 spokesman Ulrich Lissek denied that the company was close to bankruptcy but confirmed it had dismissed all its employees in Zug.

The pipeline is owned by Russian-controlled gas giant Gazprom with investment from several European companies.

The German government moved to halt the pipeline’s certification on Feb. 22, after Russia recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden President then directed his administration to impose sanctions on the operating company.

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MOSCOW — Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Tuesday the government has readied measures to temporarily restrict foreign investors from divesting Russian assets, saying the step would help them make “a considered decision” rather than succumb to political pressure of sanctions.

Mishustin said a presidential decree had been prepared imposing “temporary restrictions on exiting from Russian assets.” He did not provide details or say if the restrictions would apply to some forms of investment or to all.

Major Western corporations have come under pressure to divest stakes in Russian companies. Oil company BP said Sunday it would seek to dispose of its stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft and Shell said Monday it would exit all its Russian businesses. Other companies with major stakes include France’s TotalEnergies, which holds 19.4% of natural gas company Novatek.

Russian officials have taken steps to cushion the impact of massive economic sanctions, with the central bank raising interest rates to defend the ruble’s exchange rate, requiring companies to sell foreign exchange earnings, and making unlimited short term credit available to banks.

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WASHINGTON — A Ukraine-born U.S. congresswoman delivered an emotional plea for President Joe Biden to step up to save her country from Russia’s invasion.

Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana spoke Tuesday alongside other GOP lawmakers ahead of Biden’s first State of the Union address.

“This is not a war, this is a genocide of the Ukrainian people by a crazy man,” Spartz said, without naming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The congresswoman wore the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine and said she still has family in the region, including her 95-year-old grandmother. She said Ukrainians “want to be with the United States of America. They want to be free people.”

Biden “must act decisively, fast, or this blood of many millions of Ukrainians will be on his hands, too,” she said.

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FRANKFURT, Germany -- The International Energy Agency’s 31 member countries have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves — half of that from the United States.

Tuesday’s decision by the board of the Paris-based IEA is meant “to send a strong message to oil markets” that there will be “no shortfall in supplies” after Russia invaded Ukraine.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement that President Joe Biden approved a commitment of 30 million barrels and that the U.S. is ready to “take additional measures” if needed.

Russia plays an outsized role in global energy markets as the third-largest oil producer.

While Western sanctions have not targeted Russia’s energy industry so far, the invasion has still shaken markets worldwide. Oil prices soared Tuesday. with U.S. benchmark crude surpassing US$100 per barrel — the highest price since 2014.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces fired at the Kyiv TV tower and Ukraine's main Holocaust memorial, among other civilian sites targeted Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine's State Service for Emergency Situations said the strikes on the TV tower killed five people and left five more wounded.

Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, posted a photo of clouds of smoke around the TV tower, which is a couple miles from central Kyiv and a short walk from numerous apartment buildings. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an electrical substation powering the tower and a control room on the tower were damaged from the hit.

The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, Andriy Yermak, said on Facebook that a "powerful missile attack on the territory where the (Babi) Yar memorial complex is located" is underway.

Babi Yar, a ravine in Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation. The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.

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GENEVA — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the UN's top human rights body to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.

The top U.S. diplomat also singled out Russia in recorded remarks delivered to the Human Rights Council for repression within the country, citing reports that thousands of protesters in Russia who were opposed to the invasion had been detained.

Blinken urged the council Tuesday to send a message that Russian President Vladimir Putin should unconditionally stop the "unprovoked attack" and withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

"We must condemn firmly and unequivocally Russia's attempt to topple a democratically elected government and its gross human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, and we must take steps to hold the perpetrators accountable," he said.

The comments came as the United States returned to its seat at the council, which had been abandoned under U.S. President Donald Trump, who alleged that the 47-member-state body was too accepting of autocratic governments and too biased against Israel.

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MOSCOW — Russian nuclear submarines sailed off for drills in the Barents Sea and mobile missile launchers roamed the taiga on Tuesday following President Vladimir Putin's order to put the nation's nuclear forces on high alert amid soaring tensions with the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's Northern Fleet said in a statement that several of its nuclear submarines were involved in exercises to "train manoeuvring in stormy conditions." It said several warships tasked with protection of the area near the Russian naval bases on the Arctic Kola Peninsula will also join the manoeuvres.

And in the Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia, units of the Strategic Missile Forces moved the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launches to disperse in forests to practice secret deployment, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The military didn't say whether the drills were linked to Putin's order on Sunday to put the country's nuclear deterrent on high alert amid the war in Ukraine and it was unclear whether they represented any change in the country's normal nuclear posture.

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KYIV, Ukraine — The TV tower in Ukraine’s capital has been hit, according to the country’s parliament, which posted a photo of clouds of smoke around it.

Local media reported that there were several explosions and that Ukrainian TV channels stopped broadcasting shortly afterward.

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BRUSSELS — A senior Western intelligence official briefed by multiple intelligence agencies estimated Tuesday that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been captured or killed so far, and that Ukrainian forces have eliminated significant numbers of Russian aircraft and tanks and some air defense systems.

The official said that Russian forces have increased use of artillery north of Kyiv and around the eastern city of Kharkiv and northern city of Chernihiv, and have been using heavier weapons over the last 48 hours.

The official also said that Russian forces are bogging down in the Donbas region in the east, where most Ukrainian forces are concentrated after eight years fighting Russian-backed separatists there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence assessment.

Overall death tolls from the fighting remain unclear.

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TORONTO — Canada is closing its waters and ports to Russian-owned or registered ships.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says Russia must be held accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and Canada will continue to take action.

Canada already closed its airspace to Russian aircraft and is sending anti-tank weapons and rockets to Ukraine. Canada has also announced a barrage of sanctions and is banning all crude oil imports from Russia.

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LONDON — Britain is vowing to end London’s status as a haven for oligarchs and their ill-gotten gains with a law intended to prevent the real owners of businesses and properties being hidden from view.

The government said the Economic Crime Bill will force anonymous foreign owners of U.K. property to reveal their real identities "to ensure criminals cannot hide behind secretive chains of shell companies.” Those who don’t comply face being unable to sell their property or a five-year prison sentence.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the measure, which has to be approved by Parliament, would help “tear back the facade that those supporting (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s campaign of destruction have been hiding behind for so long.”

Successive British governments have promised for years to end London’s status as a safe haven for dirty money, with little effect.

The anti-corruption group Transparency International says Russians linked to the Kremlin or accused of corruption own 1.5 billion pounds’ ($2 billion) worth of London property, and 90,000 properties in Britain are owned by shell companies.

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PODGORICA, Montenegro — Montenegro, a former ally that turned its back on Russia to enter NATO in 2017, has joined Western sanctions imposed against Moscow because of the war in Ukraine.

Montenegro’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said that by joining the sanctions Montenegro continues with full harmonization of its policies with those of the European Union.

Additionally, “we are showing solidarity with Ukraine and determination to help … re-establish peace in Europe,” said the statement.

Montenegro is seen as the next in line in the Western Balkans to join the EU. The country is divided among those favoring pro-Western policies and the pro-Serbian and pro-Russian camps.

A pro-Serbian government recently fell in a parliamentary no-confidence vote with talks underway for the formation of a pro-Western one soon.

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LONDON — Britain’s Prince Charles offered words of support for Ukraine on Tuesday, saying he stands with residents who are “resisting brutal aggression.”

Charles, 73, was speaking in Southend-on-Sea in eastern England, where he drew parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the murder of a local member of Parliament who was stabbed to death last year while meeting with constituents.

“What we saw in the terrible tragedy in Southend was an attack on democracy, on an open society, on freedom itself,” Charles said.

“We are seeing those same values under attack today in Ukraine in the most unconscionable way,” he said. ”In the stand we take here, we are in solidarity with all those who are resisting brutal aggression.”

The comments came as Charles attended a ceremony officially conferring city status on Southend. The government last year pledged to make Southend a city in honor of the slain lawmaker David Amess, who had campaigned for cityhood for his community.

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s defense minister has called for a ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine during a telephone discussion with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, according to the Turkish defense ministry.

During their conversation, Hulusi Akar “emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire” to improve the humanitarian situation and to allow the evacuation of people caught up in Russia’s military attacks on Ukraine, according to a ministry statement.

The Turkish minister also told Shoigu that Turkey would continue to work to restore peace in the region and to help provide humanitarian aid.

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PARIS — French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the word “war” he used earlier Tuesday to describe economic and financial sanctions against Russia was “inappropriate.”

Le Maire said in a written statement “we are determined to impose massive and efficient sanctions on Russia but we are not in a conflict against the Russian people.”

He added the word “war” is not in line with France’s “strategy of de-escalation.”

Le Maire’s statement comes after his initial comments prompted a stark warning from a senior Russian official. Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said on Twitter : “Watch your tongue, gentlemen! And don’t forget that in human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones.”

Tuesday morning on France Info radio, Le Maire had vowed to “to deliver a total economic and financial war against Russia,” adding the sanctions are “going to cause the Russian economy to collapse.”

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KYIV, Ukraine — The leadership of Ukraine’s main Holocaust memorial has asked the International Criminal Court to speak out against Vladimir Putin’s false claims of a genocide in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

In a letter to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial’s academic council said Putin’s claims that Ukraine committed genocide “is a lie.” Putin has sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by claiming he is protecting residents in the Donbas region, where separatists have fought Ukrainian forces.

The letter asks Khan to make a “legal statement about this so-called genocide.”

“If President Putin wants to denounce genocide, he should reach out to those in the system of international justice, not begin a war against the people of Ukraine under false pretenses,” it says.

Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation. The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.

The memorial was inaugurated at a ceremony last October attended by the leaders of Ukraine, Israel and Germany. One of the leading donors to the project is Mikhail Fridman, a Ukrainian-born Russian oligarch. Fridman has spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine.

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PRISTINA, Kosovo — Fearing Russia’s intervention through its regional ally Serbia, Kosovo leaders on Tuesday called on NATO to accelerate Kosovo’s membership into the alliance.

Kosovo has joined the United States, European Union and other global powers in slapping ever-tougher sanctions on Russia, a move which has not been done by neighboring Serbia.

Defense Minister Armend Mehaj said that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “Kosovo’s accelerated membership to NATO is an immediate need to guarantee security and stability in the region and beyond,” adding that, “we should not wait for the worst to take decisions.”

Kosovo relations with Serbia are still tense despite an 11-year long EU-facilitated dialogue.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 after a bloody conflict with Serbia years earlier left more than 10,000 people dead and triggered a NATO intervention. Pristina’s government is recognized by the U.S. and most EU nations, but Belgrade has refused to recognize its independence and relies on support from Russia and China in its bid to retain claims on the territory.

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GENEVA -- The UN refugee agency says that about 660,000 people have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion began.

The number, given on Tuesday, was up from a count of more than 500,000 a day earlier.

Shabia Mantoo, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva that “at this rate, the situation looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.”

She said the agency is urging governments to continue allowing access to all those who are fleeing, including third-country nationals living in Ukraine who are forced to escape the violence. She added: “We stress that there must be no discrimination against any person or group.”

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BERLIN — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says some of its observers in Ukraine are trapped in Kharkiv and Kherson due to fighting in those cities.

The Vienna-based organization announced Friday it was evacuating members of the monitoring mission from Ukraine.

In its latest report, published late Monday, the OSCE said that “due to ongoing kinetic activity, including continued shelling and reports of fighting, as well as the dynamic movement of front lines, the monitoring teams located in the cities of Kharkiv and Kherson continue to shelter in place.”

“The teams are conducting dynamic security risk assessments to establish a window to allow them to move safely,” it added.

The OSCE said its chief Monitor and senior management would remain in Ukraine until the evacuation process was complete. The mission comprising some 500 observers was tasked with monitoring the line of contact between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.

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GENEVA — The UN human rights office called Tuesday for the release of all peaceful protesters who were arrested after taking part in anti-war demonstrations in Russia.

The Geneva-based office said reports suggested about 6,400 people have been arrested in Russia since last week for taking part in peace protests.

“We understand the vast majority are released within hours, many after paying an administrative fine, while some are given prison sentences ranging from seven to 25 days under various laws,” it said. “There are also reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force by police during and after the arrests.”

“Arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” it added. “We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained and for the authorities to abide by their international obligations to respect and ensure the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly.”

Separately, it also urged the release of some 744 people detained in neighbouring Belarus, saying some had been arrested for chanting “no war” and expressing support for Ukraine.

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GENEVA — The Red Cross is appealing for 250 million Swiss francs (US$272 million) to help people affected by the war in Ukraine.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Cross federation said in a statement Tuesday they fear “millions of people face extreme hardship and suffering without improved access and a rapid increase in humanitarian assistance.”

“Casualty figures keep rising while health facilities struggle to cope,” said the head of the ICRC, Robert Mardini.

“We already see long-term disruptions in regular water and electricity supplies,” he added. “People calling our hotline in Ukraine are desperately in need of food and shelter.”

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ROME — The Italian ambassador to Ukraine has been sheltering 87 Italians, including children and newborns, in his home in Kyiv.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi told Parliament on Tuesday said most of those being sheltered should be leaving today for Lviv, a city in western Ukraine.

Unlike several other Western countries, Italy kept its embassy services functioning in Ukraine’s capital in the run-up to the invasion by Russia but moved the embassy to the ambassador’s residence.

There are some 2,300 Italians in Ukraine, more than half of them residents of the country.

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MOSCOW — The Kremlin has denied that the Russian military has used cluster munitions in Ukraine and insisted that the Russian forces only have struck military targets.

Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted Tuesday that “the Russian troops don’t conduct any strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential areas.” Peskov’s claim contradicts abundant evidence documented by the AP of indiscriminate shelling of homes, schools, and hospitals across Ukraine.

Peskov also rejected the accusations that the Russian military has used cluster munitions and devastating vacuum weapons, dismissing them as fabrications.

Speaking in a conference call with reporters, he wouldn’t respond to questions about whether the Kremlin is happy with the pace of the offensive and wouldn’t comment on Russian military casualties.

The Russian Defence Ministry said for the first time Monday that it has suffered losses but didn’t name any numbers.

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GENEVA — The UN human rights office says it has recorded the deaths of 136 civilians, including 13 children, in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, but warned the toll may be far higher.

The Geneva-based office said Tuesday that it has also recorded 400 civilians injured in the conflict, among them 26 children.

“Most of these casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and air strikes,” it said. “These are only the casualties we were able to cross-check, and the real toll is likely to be much higher.”

It urged parties to the conflict not to use explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas because of the “very high risks of indiscriminate and disproportionate impact on civilians.”

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MOSCOW — Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says that the military will keep pressing its offensive in Ukraine “until it achieves its stated goals,” charging that the attack is intended to “protect” his country from a military threat from Western countries, “which are trying to use the Ukrainian people in the fight against our country.”

Shoigu reaffirmed on Tuesday that the Russian military “strikes only military facilities and uses exclusively precision weapons” despite abundant evidence documented by the AP of indiscriminate shelling of homes, schools and hospitals across Ukraine.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Separatist forces in Donetsk say they have established two corridors for the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, an indication that a large attack on the key Azov Sea port could be imminent.

Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the separatists ’military, said on Tuesday that civilian safety of movement is guaranteed until Wednesday in the corridors.

Mariupol, an industrial centre, is seen as a key target for Russian forces for its economic value and its location, which would help Russia establish a land corridor between Crimea and the Russian mainland.

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PARIS — French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday on France Info radio that Western sanctions are “going to cause the Russian economy to collapse.”

“Russia’s foreign exchange reserves are disappearing into thin air and Vladimir Putin’s notorious war chest is all but empty,” Le Maire said Tuesday on France Info radio. “The market is collapsing. Inflation is rising. We’re going to see lines of Russian people trying to withdraw cash from their banks.”

Le Maire also said that the Russian Central Bank having to raise interest rates “means that companies won’t have access to loans, or at very high rates” and therefore won’t be able to invest and develop the Russian economy.

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BERLIN — Google is blocking the YouTube channels of Russian broadcasters RT and Sputnik in Europe due to the war in Ukraine.

Google said in a statement Tuesday on Twitter that the decision will be “effective immediately.” But the company added that “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 said.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The world’s biggest shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk says that all new bookings to and from Russia “will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies.”

The move came because “the stability and safety of our operations is already being directly and indirectly impacted by sanctions,” the Copenhagen-based group said in a statement Tuesday adding the suspension applies to “all Russian gateway ports.”

The group said it is “deeply concerned by how the crisis keeps escalating in Ukraine.”

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BERLIN — The city of Munich said Tuesday it has fired Valery Gergiev as the chief conductor of the city’s philharmonic orchestra because of his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement that Gergiev had failed to respond to a Monday deadline to distance himself from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I had expected him to rethink and revise his very positive assessment of the Russian leader,” said Reiter.

“After this didn’t occur the only option is the immediate severance of ties,” he added.

Gergiev has already been dropped as conductor of the Verbier Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Vienna Philharmonic’s five-concert U.S. tour and other engagements in recent days.

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BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says unity “has become a question of survival for Europe” in light of Russia’s decision to ignore international rules with its attack on Ukraine.

Speaking Tuesday ahead of a meeting with her Polish and French counterparts in Lodz, Poland, Baerbock said it was important that the three countries bring their own — often quite different — perspectives to the issue and thereby ensure Europe remains united.

“If our three countries can act as one, as we are now in our support for Ukraine, then Europe acts as one,” she said in a statement.

Baerbock said Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine could also be seen in the peace protests that have taken place in recent days “where hundreds of thousands of participants expressed their sorrow and also their anger” over the war.

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ROME — Italian Premier Mario Draghi is asking the country’s Parliament to step up military aid to Ukraine, a day after his Cabinet approved supplying arms like anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

Draghi told lawmakers on Tuesday that Russia’s attack on Ukraine “obligates us to make choices that were unthinkable” until recently. Some lawmakers in parties in his wide-ranging pandemic unity government have voiced opposition to sending lethal military aid. But both chambers of Parliament are expected to approve the aid in votes this week.

Just last week, the government said it would be sending only “non-lethal” aid to Italy’s military forces, such as equipment to disable land mines. But “it’s necessary that a democratically elected government is able to resist invasion and defend the independence of the nation,″ Draghi said, arguing for supplying lethal weaponry.

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BEIJING — China is urging restraint from “all parties” in Russia’s war on Ukraine, continuing its efforts to express support for its northern ally without outright endorsing the invasion.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday reiterated China’s call for the “reasonable security concerns” of all countries to be respected, and assertion that the Ukraine issue has “a complex reality.”

Russia’s “legitimate security demands should be taken seriously and properly addressed” in the face of NATO’s expansion eastward, Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.

“We express regret over the casualties. The current situation is not something we want to see,” Wang said.

“It is imperative that all parties maintain the necessary restraint to prevent the situation on the ground from further deteriorating or even going out of control, and make efforts to effectively safeguard civilians’ lives and property, especially to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis.”

China has largely aligned its foreign policy with Russia’s in recent years as part of joint efforts to challenge the U.S.-led liberal international order. During a visit by Putin to Beijing early last month, Beijing endorsed Putin’s objections to further NATO expansion and Russia backed China’s claim to the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan.

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LONDON — Britain’s deputy prime minister again rejected calls for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it would risk widening the war by putting the alliance in direct conflict with Russian forces.

Dominic Raab told Sky News on Tuesday that Britain instead is pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to change course by working with other countries to ratchet up sanctions and investigate war crimes during the conflict.

“We’re not going to (impose a no-fly zone) because it would put us in a position where we would have to enforce it by, in effect, shooting down Russian planes,” Raab said in an interview with Sky.

The comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO to impose a complete no-fly zone for Russian airplanes, helicopters and missiles.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence on Tuesday said Russia had failed to gain control of the skies over Ukraine, forcing it to shift to night operations to reduce its losses.

Russian forces have “made little progress” in their advance on the capital, Kyiv, over the past 24 hours probably because of logistical difficulties, the ministry said.

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in which the two discussed talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Belarus-Ukraine border, the Turkish president’s office said Tuesday.

Erdogan told his Belarusian counterpart late Monday that NATO-member Turkey would continue to exert efforts to “end the war and restore peace,” it said in a statement.

Ukrainian and Russian officials met on Monday for talks aimed at ending the Russian military assault on Ukraine. The talks yielded an agreement to keep talking.

Turkey, which is trying to balance its support for Ukraine with its fragile economic ties to Russia, said Monday it is implementing an international convention that allows the country to shut down the straits at the entrance of the Black Sea to warships, to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Erdogan has said Turkey would “not give up” on its close relations with either Moscow or Kyiv.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities say the centre of the country’s second-largest city has been hit by renewed Russian shelling.

Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said the administration building in the centre of Kharkiv came under Russian shelling Tuesday along with residential buildings. Sinehubov didn’t give any specific numbers of casualties from the latest shelling.

Previously, Sinehubov said at least 11 people were killed and scores of others were wounded in the shelling in Kharkiv on Monday.

He said Ukrainian troops are fending off Russian attempts to advance on the city of 1.4 million people.

Videos posted on Ukrainian social networks and media showed a massive explosion next to the towering Soviet-era administrative building on Kharkiv’s central square hitting several cars parked in front of it, shattering windows but leaving the building largely intact.

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TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has begun sending 100 tons of humanitarian aid to assist people caught up in the fighting in Ukraine.

An El Al plane was loaded with dozens of cardboard boxes Tuesday at the country’s main international airport. Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it is sending medical equipment and medicine, water purification systems, thousands of tents, blankets, sleeping bags and coats. The planes will land in Poland and the aid will be sent to Ukraine from there.

Israel has repeatedly pledged its support for the people of Ukraine in the war. But it has been cautious in joining the West in condemning Russia.

Israel relies on Russia for security coordination in Syria, where Russia has a military presence and where Israel over recent years has repeatedly struck weapons caches destined for its enemies and other targets.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan says it sent 27 tons worth of medical supplies to Ukraine via a flight to Germany late Monday.

Foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou told reporters Tuesday that Taiwan was happy to assist as “a responsible member of the international community, and a member of the democratic camp.”

Taiwan has strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and had said it would impose economic sanctions against Russia. It has yet to reveal what those sanctions were, but the island is a dominant manufacturer of semiconductor chips, which are crucial to tech products ranging from smartphones to cars.

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KYIV, Ukraine — More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base Sunday in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, the head of the region wrote on Telegram.

Dmytro Zhyvytskyy posted photographs of the charred shell of a four-story building and rescuers searching rubble. In a later Facebook post, he said many Russian soldiers and some local residents also were killed during the fighting on Sunday. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

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NEW YORK — Three Hollywood studios are pausing theatrical releases in Russia, including “The Batman” that was to roll out in theatres there this week.

Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Co. and Sony Pictures announced the pauses Monday. Each studio has significant releases that had been set to debut internationally in the coming weeks. “The Batman,” one of the year’s more anticipated films, launches Friday in North America and many overseas territories.

Warner Bros.′ move closely followed a similar decision Monday by the Walt Disney Co. The studio had planned to open the Pixar film “Turning Red” in Russia on March 10. That film is going straight to Disney+ in the U.S.

Sony said it would delay its release of the comic book film “Morbius” in Russia.

Russia typically ranks in the top dozen countries globally in box office.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australia will provide Ukraine with US$50 million in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison elaborated on his country’s plans Tuesday after revealing his government would provide Ukraine with lethal military equipment. Morrison had promised only non-lethal military equipment last week.

“President Zelensky said: ‘Don’t give me a ride, give me ammunition,’ and that’s exactly what the Australian government has agreed to do,” Morrison said.

Australia had committed $50 million to provide both lethal and non-lethal defensive support for Ukraine through NATO, he said, adding the overwhelming majority will be “in the lethal category.”

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KYIV, Ukraine — Satellite photos show a convoy of Russian forces north of Ukraine’s capital stretching for 40 miles.

The vast convoy of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and support vehicles was 25 kilometres from the centre of Kyiv and stretched for about 40 miles, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies.

The Maxar photos also showed deployments of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus.

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WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. is telling senators her country needs more military weapons as it fights the Russian invasion.

Senators emerged from a Monday evening meeting with Ambassador Oksana Markarova at the Capitol as Congress is preparing supplemental funding to help Ukraine during the crisis. The White House is seeking at least US$6.4 billion in military and humanitarian aid.

“They need more arms,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

“It’s David versus Goliath,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. “I think that any human being reading the reports coming out of there realize that this is dire.”

Senators in the U.S. are working to provide ammunition such as anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.

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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian troops have intensified shelling of Ukraine, calling it an effort to force his government into making concessions during talks held Monday.

In a video address late Monday, Zelensky says that “the talks were taking place against the backdrop of bombing and shelling of our territory, our cities. Synchronizing of the shelling with the negotiating process was obvious. I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method.”

The president gave no details about the talks themselves. But he says Ukraine is not prepared to make concessions “when one side is hitting another with rocket artillery.”

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LOS ANGELES — Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation says equipment to use SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has arrived in his country.

Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the equipment in a Twitter post Monday that was accompanied by a photo of boxes on a truck.

Musk replied with his own tweet saying: “You are most welcome.”

The tech billionaire said over the weekend that Starlink was now “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way. That followed a public request from Fedorov for the service.

Starlink is a satellite-based internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.