Russian President Valdimir Putin on Saturday warned the West of a wider war if a no-fly zone is set up, as his forces resumed an offensive against a key Ukrainian city where a planned evacuation of residents failed to take place over security fears.
With his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky criticising NATO for ruling out a no-fly zone for fear of sparking nuclear conflict, Putin spoke of "colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world", if such a zone was set up.
"Any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict by that country," Putin said.
For Zelensky, on day 10 of the invasion, under an escalating bombardment that has flattened more and more infrastructure and sent nearly 1.4 million civilians fleeing for their lives, the Western military alliance's "no" to a no-fly zone had essentially given "the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages".
The strategic city of Mariupol proudly resisted Moscow-backed rebels during a 2014 conflict, but the Azoz sea port has for days been without electricity, food and water in the dead of winter and people began gathering for the evacuation.
After Russia's defence ministry declared the ceasefire -- to open a humanitarian corridor out of the war's fiercest battles -- officials said the city's 450,000-strong population could begin to leave by bus and private cars.
Since Putin's army invaded on February 24, Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities, with officials reporting hundreds of civilians killed. Europe's largest atomic power plant has even come under attack sparking fears of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Ukraine-Russia conflict:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western sanctions were akin to war as his forces pressed their assault on Ukraine on Saturday for a 10th day and the IMF warned that the conflict would have a "severe impact" on the global economy. Read more
Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major US firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Mastercard said that "noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment," it had "decided to suspend our network services in Russia."
Talks with Russia are beginning to be "constructive," a Ukrainian negotiator said Saturday, describing what he perceived as an apparent shift in Moscow's attitude towards Ukrainian resistance and biting international sanctions.
Canada told its citizens on Saturday to leave Russia "while commercial means are still available," saying security conditions were unpredictable and could deteriorate without notice.
"Flight availability is becoming extremely limited ... The ability of our embassy to provide consular services in Russia may become severely limited," Canada's foreign ministry said in a travel advisory. Canada, like many other Western nations, imposed broad sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Students from the Sumy State University have been constantly posting videos highlighting the dire situations they have been forced to brave. In a video from one of the hostels, students were seen collecting snow to melt for water.
A Russian plane landed at Washington's international airport Saturday to pick up about a dozen diplomats from Moscow's UN mission who are accused by Washington of espionage, authorities said.
The United States closed its airspace to all Russian aircraft after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
The Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft was allowed, however, to land at Dulles International Airport. The landing was confirmed by the FlightAware website, which tracks all air movement.
"The US government approved a flight chartered by the Russian government to facilitate the departure of Russian UN Mission personnel who were expelled for abuse of their privileges of residence," a State Department spokesman told AFP.
Thousands of women and children, many weeping and numb with exhaustion, arrived in Lviv in western Ukraine on Saturday as the state railway put on more trains to rescue people from fierce Russian attacks on eastern cities.
Pisochyn has been evacuated of all Indian citizens. Mission will continue to remain in touch with them through their journey. Their safety has always been our priority.
- India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) March 5, 2022
Be Safe Be Strong@opganga @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/cz2Prishgp
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that any country that sought to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered by Moscow to have entered the conflict.
The Kremlin on Saturday defended new legislation that could see people jailed for up to 15 years for publishing "fake news" about the Russian military, saying the country was facing "an information war".
Formula One team Haas on Saturday announced they have dropped Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and terminated their contract with title sponsor Uralkali due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The European Union said it had joined members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in suspending Russia and Belarus from the Council's activities.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday accused Russian troops of raping women and backed a call for the creation of a special tribunal to punish Moscow's aggression.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday that 66,224 Ukrainian men had returned from abroad to join the fight against Russia's invasion.
Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc shut down its services early on Saturday in Russia, citing "the current circumstances," joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine.
In bright sunshine, a long queue of shoppers snaked outside an IKEA store near Moscow this week. Similar scenes were repeated across Russia as families rushed to spend their fast-depreciating roubles at the Swedish retailer which is exiting the crisis-hit country.
The Chinese rights holders of the English Premier League are not airing its football matches this weekend, schedules show, with the games expected to show solidarity with Ukraine after Russia's invasion.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Saturday that its Starlink satellite broadband service has been told by some governments, not Ukraine, to block Russian news sources.
An AirAsia India evacuation flight from Suceava in Romania carrying 170 Indian evacuees from Ukraine landed at Delhi early morning on Saturday, an airline official said.
Russia's Defence Ministry announced a ceasefire today to allow residents of two besieged cities, including the strategic port town of Mariupol, to evacuate. "Today, March 5, from 10 am Moscow time, the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha," the ministry said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has plunged far-right movements across Europe into an identity crisis, as they struggle to square their loyalty to Vladimir Putin with the public's overwhelming solidarity with Kyiv.
Invading Russian troops have blockaded the strategic Ukrainian port city Mariupol, its mayor announced Saturday, as Moscow and Kyiv aimed to hold new talks over the weekend. While laying siege to Mariupol for days, Russian forces also cut its electricity, food, water, heating and transportation in the depths of winter, prompting comparisons to the Nazi blockade of Leningrad in World War II.
Russia blocked Facebook and some other websites and passed a law that gave Moscow much stronger powers to crack down on independent journalism, prompting the BBC, Bloomberg and other foreign media to suspend reporting in the country.
Switzerland's newly adopted tough stance on Russia has forced the Swiss economy to readjust to sanctions, blowing a wind of panic through the raw materials market in particular.
South Korean tech company, Samsung has suspended product shipments to Russia "due to current geopolitical developments," joining other global giants like Apple and Microsoft who have stopped sales and services in the country after it attacked Ukraine.
Singapore has introduced sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and some other Russian banks as well as imposed restrictions on the exports to the country over the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Singaporean Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
G7 countries promised Friday to impose "tough new sanctions" on Russia, and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to " increase the extraordinary pressure we're already exerting."
CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia, the news channel said on Friday after the introduction of a new law there that could jail anyone intentionally spreading "fake" news.
Three C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft of the IAF landed at Hindan today morning. These flights evacuated 629 Indian nationals from Romania, Slovakia and Poland.
Exploring all possible mechanisms to evacuate 🇮🇳n citizens in Sumy, safely & securely.
- India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) March 4, 2022
Discussed evacuation & identification of exit routes with all interlocuters including Red Cross.
Control room will continue to be active until all our citizens are evacuated.
Be Safe Be Strong
Russia's war in Ukraine has "horrified" the World Bank's shareholders and will have lasting consequences for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's standing on the global stage, the global lender's president said
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion, diplomats said Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, leading his country's battle against the Russian invasion, will address the US Senate on Saturday
Ukraine's strategic port city of Mariupol is under a "blockade" by Russian forces after days of "ruthless" attacks, its mayor said on Saturday, calling for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.
Ukraine and its allies expressed fury on Friday after Europe's largest atomic power plant was attacked and seized by invading Russian forces, which continued to shell major cities.