President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert, but the explosions and gunfire that have disrupted life since the start of the invasion appeared to subside around Ukraine’s capital overnight as the Kremlin’s military advances were slowed by an outgunned but determined resistance.Ukraine’s embattled leader, meanwhile, agreed to talks with Moscow, and Western nations planned to send arms and other supplies to the country’s defenders.Here’s the latest on the Ukraine-Russia conflict: Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert.Ukraine’s president says 16 Ukrainian children have been killed and another 45 have been injured in the Russian invasion.The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The U.S. has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday.The U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.All times referenced below are in Eastern Standard Time:5:30 a.m.Trains continue to bring refugees fleeing war in Ukraine to safety in Poland and in other countries.Poland’s Border Guard says around 213,000 people have entered Poland from Ukraine since Thursday, when Russia waged war on Ukraine.Another train carrying hundreds of refugees from Ukraine arrived early Monday in the town of Przemysl, in southeastern Poland.In winter coats to protect them against near-freezing temperatures, with small suitcases, they lined at the platform to the exit. Some waved at the camera to show they felt relief to be out of the war zone. Many were making phone calls.4 a.m. The Vatican is offering its services for any negotiation aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2 official, told several Italian newspapers in an interview published on Monday, that “even though what we feared and what we hoped wouldn’t happen did happen, there is always space for negotiation.”He noted that the Holy See, “offering its willingness to facilitate dialogue with Russia, is always ready to help the parties to get back on that path.’’On Friday, Pope Francis in an extraordinary step went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to meet with the Russian ambassador. The pontiff pressed for an end to fighting and a return to negotiations, Parolin noted. 2 a.m.The Russian military says that residents of the Ukrainian capital can use a safe corridor to leave the city if they want.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Monday that Kyiv residents can safely use a highway leading to Vasylkiv just southwest of the Ukrainian capital. The statement came as fighting raged in various parts of the Ukrainian capital, with Ukrainian authorities saying that they were fighting small groups of Russian forces in various sectors of the capital.1 a.m.The ruble sank nearly 26% against the U.S. dollar early Monday after Western nations moved to block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system.The ruble was trading at a record low 105.27 per dollar, down from about 84 per dollar late Friday.Russia’s Central Bank has sharply raised its key rate from 9.5% to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.12:05 a.m. MondayA senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort, but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.The American official has direct knowledge of current U.S. intelligence assessments and says the decision by Belarus’ leader on whether to bring Belarus further into the war depends on talks between Russia and Ukraine happening in the coming days. The official spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive information.Russian forces have encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders, and U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts. 11:15 p.m. SundayRussia has apparently rendered Facebook largely unusable across leading Russian telecommunications providers amid rising friction between Moscow and the social media platform.The London-based internet monitor NetBlocks reports that Facebook’s network of content-distribution servers in Russia was so badly restricted Sunday that “content no longer loads, or loads extremely slowly making the platforms unusable.”Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday announced plans to “partially restrict” access to Facebook. That same day, Facebook’s head of security policy had said the company was barring Russian state media from running ads or otherwise profiting on its platform anywhere in the world.Facebook says it has also refused a request by the Kremlin not to run fact checks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the platform for users inside Russia.10:05 p.m. SundayThe United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says missiles have hit a radioactive waste disposal site in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, but there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material.In a statement late Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi says Ukrainian authorities informed his office about the overnight strike. He says his agency expects to soon receive the results of on-site radioactive monitoring.Video above: SAG stars see parallels in history to Russia-Ukraine war9:20 p.m. SundayThe U.N.’s two major bodies — the 193-nation General Assembly and the more powerful 15-member Security Council — will hold separate meetings Monday on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a reflection of widespread international demands for an immediate cease-fire and escalating concern for the plight of millions of Ukrainians caught up in the war.The Security Council gave a green light Sunday for the first emergency session of the General Assembly in decades.8 p.m. SundayAn Austria-based subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank has been ruled likely to fail after depositors fled due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The European Central Bank said early Monday that the bank had 13.6 billion euros in assets at the end of last year, but has experienced “significant deposit outflows” due to “geopolitical tensions.”The ECB says Vienna-headquartered Sberbank Europe AG “is likely to be unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fall due.” The bank is a fully owned subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank, whose majority shareholder is the Russian government.Europe’s bank resolution board separately says it has imposed a payments ban on money owed by the bank and a limit on how much depositors can withdraw. The board will decide on further steps, which could include restructuring, selling or liquidating the bank.Sberbank Europe operates 185 branches and has more than 3,933 employees.7:45 p.m. SundayThe Ukrainian military on Sunday claimed successful attacks by its Turkish-made force of drones against Russian forces.The Armed Forces of Ukraine released footage showing the destruction of armor by a drone and said that it was carried out against a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile system.Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Armed Forces commander-in-chief, said the drone attack took place near the town of Malyn, about 62 miles northwest of Kyiv.The Ukrainian government began receiving the Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey last year.Video: A look inside Ukraine’s capital 7 p.m. SundayMore than 500 people have been detained in Belarus for protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the country’s most prominent human rights group.The Viasna human rights center released the names of 530 people detained Sunday across Belarus, where demonstrations against the war spanned at least 12 cities.In the capital of Minsk, demonstrators marched in different parts of the city carrying Ukrainian flags. A large pile of flowers kept growing at the building of Ukraine’s Embassy.The authoritarian Belarusian government has supported Russia in the conflict.6 p.m. SundayUkraine’s Interior Ministry says 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children. It says an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.The ministry’s statement Sunday does not give any information on casualties among Ukraine’s armed forces.Russia has claimed that its troops are targeting only Ukrainian military facilities and says that Ukraine’s civilian population is not in danger.Russia has not released any information on casualties among its troops. The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged on Sunday only that Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded, without giving any numbers.5:30 p.m. SundayThe world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, generating alarm and sadness among the aviation world in which it occupies almost cult status.The enormous aircraft, named “Mriya,” or “dream” in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by “Russian occupants,” Ukrainian authorities said, adding that they would rebuild the plane.”Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!” wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.There has been no independent confirmation of the aircraft’s destruction. A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts.4:45 p.m. SundayThe U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday. The exact timing of delivery is not known, but officials say the U.S. is currently working on the logistics of the shipment. The officials agreed to discuss the development only if not quoted by name.The decision comes on the heels of Germany’s announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.The high-speed Stingers are very accurate and are used to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. Ukrainian officials have been asking for more of the powerful weapons.Estonia has also been providing Ukraine with Stingers since January, and in order to do that had to get U.S. permission.4:10 p.m. SundayThe U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The vote on Sunday to authorize an emergency meeting was 11 in favor, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. That was the exact same vote on a resolution Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya asked for the General Assembly meeting to be held under the so-called “Uniting for Peace” resolution, initiated by the United States and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Korean War.That resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call emergency meetings when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.3:55 p.m. SundayThe U.S. Embassy in Moscow urged American citizens in Russia to think about leaving the country immediately on Sunday, as some airlines halt flights there and some countries close their skies to Russian aircraft.”U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available,” the Embassy said in a statement on its website.U.S. officials in recent weeks have urged Americans not to travel to Russia, and warned that the U.S. government could not help in any evacuation of Americans from there.An earlier alert recommended Americans develop contingency plans about how to leave the country if necessary.The European Union was among those announcing Sunday they were closing their airspace to Russian flights.3:30 p.m. SundayEarlier this month, Ukrainian skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych flashed a sign at the Olympics: “No war in Ukraine.” On Sunday, he was hunkered down about 93 miles outside of his nation’s capital with weapons nearby in case he needs to defend his country.”I am a student,” the 23-year-old said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “I am not experienced in these type of things. But I am ready to stand strong and help in any way I can.”With Russian troops encircling the capital of Kyiv, Heraskevych was among some four dozen athletes from Ukraine and elsewhere who sent an open letter to Olympic and Paralympic leaders, urging them to immediately suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert, but the explosions and gunfire that have disrupted life since the start of the invasion appeared to subside around Ukraine’s capital overnight as the Kremlin’s military advances were slowed by an outgunned but determined resistance.
Ukraine’s embattled leader, meanwhile, agreed to talks with Moscow, and Western nations planned to send arms and other supplies to the country’s defenders.
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Here’s the latest on the Ukraine-Russia conflict:
- Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert.
- Ukraine’s Interior Ministry says 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children. It says an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.
- The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- The U.S. has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday.
- The U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
All times referenced below are in Eastern Standard Time:
4 a.m.
The Vatican is offering its services for any negotiation aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2 official, told several Italian newspapers in an interview published on Monday, that “even though what we feared and what we hoped wouldn’t happen did happen, there is always space for negotiation.”
He noted that the Holy See, “offering its willingness to facilitate dialogue with Russia, is always ready to help the parties to get back on that path.’’
On Friday, Pope Francis in an extraordinary step went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to meet with the Russian ambassador. The pontiff pressed for an end to fighting and a return to negotiations, Parolin noted.
2 a.m.
The Russian military says that residents of the Ukrainian capital can use a safe corridor to leave the city if they want.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Monday that Kyiv residents can safely use a highway leading to Vasylkiv just southwest of the Ukrainian capital. The statement came as fighting raged in various parts of the Ukrainian capital, with Ukrainian authorities saying that they were fighting small groups of Russian forces in various sectors of the capital.
1 a.m.
The ruble sank nearly 26% against the U.S. dollar early Monday after Western nations moved to block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system.
The ruble was trading at a record low 105.27 per dollar, down from about 84 per dollar late Friday.
Russia’s Central Bank has sharply raised its key rate from 9.5% to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.
12:05 a.m. Monday
A senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.
Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort, but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.
The American official has direct knowledge of current U.S. intelligence assessments and says the decision by Belarus’ leader on whether to bring Belarus further into the war depends on talks between Russia and Ukraine happening in the coming days. The official spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive information.
Russian forces have encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders, and U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.
11:15 p.m. Sunday
Russia has apparently rendered Facebook largely unusable across leading Russian telecommunications providers amid rising friction between Moscow and the social media platform.
The London-based internet monitor NetBlocks reports that Facebook’s network of content-distribution servers in Russia was so badly restricted Sunday that “content no longer loads, or loads extremely slowly making the platforms unusable.”
Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday announced plans to “partially restrict” access to Facebook. That same day, Facebook’s head of security policy had said the company was barring Russian state media from running ads or otherwise profiting on its platform anywhere in the world.
Facebook says it has also refused a request by the Kremlin not to run fact checks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the platform for users inside Russia.
10:05 p.m. Sunday
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says missiles have hit a radioactive waste disposal site in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, but there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material.
In a statement late Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi says Ukrainian authorities informed his office about the overnight strike. He says his agency expects to soon receive the results of on-site radioactive monitoring.
Video above: SAG stars see parallels in history to Russia-Ukraine war
9:20 p.m. Sunday
The U.N.’s two major bodies — the 193-nation General Assembly and the more powerful 15-member Security Council — will hold separate meetings Monday on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a reflection of widespread international demands for an immediate cease-fire and escalating concern for the plight of millions of Ukrainians caught up in the war.
The Security Council gave a green light Sunday for the first emergency session of the General Assembly in decades.
8 p.m. Sunday
An Austria-based subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank has been ruled likely to fail after depositors fled due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Central Bank said early Monday that the bank had 13.6 billion euros in assets at the end of last year, but has experienced “significant deposit outflows” due to “geopolitical tensions.”
The ECB says Vienna-headquartered Sberbank Europe AG “is likely to be unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fall due.” The bank is a fully owned subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank, whose majority shareholder is the Russian government.
Europe’s bank resolution board separately says it has imposed a payments ban on money owed by the bank and a limit on how much depositors can withdraw. The board will decide on further steps, which could include restructuring, selling or liquidating the bank.
Sberbank Europe operates 185 branches and has more than 3,933 employees.
7:45 p.m. Sunday
The Ukrainian military on Sunday claimed successful attacks by its Turkish-made force of drones against Russian forces.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine released footage showing the destruction of armor by a drone and said that it was carried out against a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile system.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Armed Forces commander-in-chief, said the drone attack took place near the town of Malyn, about 62 miles northwest of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government began receiving the Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey last year.
Video: A look inside Ukraine’s capital
7 p.m. Sunday
More than 500 people have been detained in Belarus for protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the country’s most prominent human rights group.
The Viasna human rights center released the names of 530 people detained Sunday across Belarus, where demonstrations against the war spanned at least 12 cities.
In the capital of Minsk, demonstrators marched in different parts of the city carrying Ukrainian flags. A large pile of flowers kept growing at the building of Ukraine’s Embassy.
The authoritarian Belarusian government has supported Russia in the conflict.
6 p.m. Sunday
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry says 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children. It says an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.
The ministry’s statement Sunday does not give any information on casualties among Ukraine’s armed forces.
Russia has claimed that its troops are targeting only Ukrainian military facilities and says that Ukraine’s civilian population is not in danger.
Russia has not released any information on casualties among its troops. The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged on Sunday only that Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded, without giving any numbers.
5:30 p.m. Sunday
The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, generating alarm and sadness among the aviation world in which it occupies almost cult status.
The enormous aircraft, named “Mriya,” or “dream” in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by “Russian occupants,” Ukrainian authorities said, adding that they would rebuild the plane.
“Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail!” wrote Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.
There has been no independent confirmation of the aircraft’s destruction. A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the “technical condition” of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts.
4:45 p.m. Sunday
The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday.
The exact timing of delivery is not known, but officials say the U.S. is currently working on the logistics of the shipment. The officials agreed to discuss the development only if not quoted by name.
The decision comes on the heels of Germany’s announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.
The high-speed Stingers are very accurate and are used to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. Ukrainian officials have been asking for more of the powerful weapons.
Estonia has also been providing Ukraine with Stingers since January, and in order to do that had to get U.S. permission.
4:10 p.m. Sunday
The U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The vote on Sunday to authorize an emergency meeting was 11 in favor, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. That was the exact same vote on a resolution Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.
Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya asked for the General Assembly meeting to be held under the so-called “Uniting for Peace” resolution, initiated by the United States and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Korean War.
That resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call emergency meetings when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
3:55 p.m. Sunday
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow urged American citizens in Russia to think about leaving the country immediately on Sunday, as some airlines halt flights there and some countries close their skies to Russian aircraft.
“U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available,” the Embassy said in a statement on its website.
U.S. officials in recent weeks have urged Americans not to travel to Russia, and warned that the U.S. government could not help in any evacuation of Americans from there.
An earlier alert recommended Americans develop contingency plans about how to leave the country if necessary.
The European Union was among those announcing Sunday they were closing their airspace to Russian flights.
3:30 p.m. Sunday
Earlier this month, Ukrainian skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych flashed a sign at the Olympics: “No war in Ukraine.” On Sunday, he was hunkered down about 93 miles outside of his nation’s capital with weapons nearby in case he needs to defend his country.
“I am a student,” the 23-year-old said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “I am not experienced in these type of things. But I am ready to stand strong and help in any way I can.”
With Russian troops encircling the capital of Kyiv, Heraskevych was among some four dozen athletes from Ukraine and elsewhere who sent an open letter to Olympic and Paralympic leaders, urging them to immediately suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
