For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:
11:35 p.m.: Russians are largely unable to access Twitter and Facebook due to restrictions by a Russian government regulator. London-based internet monitor NetBlocks reported that users trying to access Facebook found it didn’t load or was extremely slow. Both social media sites have barred ads from Russia in response to the conflict. Russian telecommunication regulator Roskomnadzor said it planned to “partially restrict” access to Facebook on Friday.
11:18 p.m.: Stock prices in Asian markets fell following the announcement of added sanctions against Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai were all down while the market in Sydney rose, the Associated Press reported. Japan was among the nations joining the U.S. and much of Europe in leveling sanctions against Russia including the rare move to suspend Russia from the SWIFT global payment system. The Russian ruble dropped 29% against the dollar on Monday morning.
8:55 p.m.: Russia’s central bank has ordered professional stock market participants to suspend the execution of all orders by foreign legal entities and individuals to sell Russian securities from Monday morning, an internal document showed, according to a Reuters report. The document was published by ACI Russia, the national organization of Russian financial market specialists, Reuters added.
7:57 p.m.: Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 352 Ukrainian civilians had been killed during Russia’s invasion, including 14 children, The Associated Press reported. An additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded, the ministry’s statement said. It did not give information regarding casualties among Ukraine’s armed forces, according to the AP report.
7:55 p.m.: Cultural organizations are seeking to distance and cut ties with performers who have voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City made the announcement on Sunday, according to The New York Times. A Munich-based management company dropped Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, 68, who has ties to Putin, The Associated Press reported.
7:02 p.m.: VOA’s Steve Herman tweets that Belarus has approved a new constitution that abandons its non-nuclear status.
5:48 p.m.: VOA’s Celia Mendoza reported that about 200 supporters of Ukraine rallied outside the United Nations during the Security Council meeting on Sunday.
5:12 p.m.: Head of U.S. Agency for International Development Samantha Power visits the Ukraine-Poland border where she says some refugees are receiving their first hot meal in four days.
4:22 p.m.: VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer reports that Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, will preside over the Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly Monday, starting at 10 a.m. EST.
4 p.m.: The European Union plans to take the unprecedented step of funding weapons purchases for Ukraine, EU officials said on Feb. 27 as the bloc announced a raft of new sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
3:10 p.m.: U.S. State Department tells U.S. citizens in Russia to consider departing immediately.
2:44 p.m.: In responded to the invasion of Ukraine, FIFA on Sunday told Russia to play home matches at neutral venues and banned its national flag and anthem from matches, according to media reports. The governing body of world football said Russian teams would play as the "Football Union of Russia.” It said it would continue discussions with other sports organizations and ultimate measures may include "potential exclusion from competitions.”
1:31 p.m.: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki urged China to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. "This is not a time to stand on the sidelines,” she told MSNBC. China on Friday abstained from a Security Council vote that deplored the invasion. Russia vetoed the draft resolution
12:00 p.m.: Images of people fleeing Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
11:47 a.m.: The European Union’s chief executive announced a series of measures against Russia, including closing EU airspace to Russian airlines and banning some pro-Kremlin media outlets.
11:24 a.m.: More demonsrations against the Russian invasion of Ukraine take place inside Russia
10:52 a.m.: The World Health Organization is warning of low supplies of medical oxygen in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
10:12 a.m.: Senior U.S. Defense official says there is no indication Russia has taken over any city in Ukraine.
9:02 a.m. Ukraine says it has agreed to hold talks with Russia at the Belarus border. "We agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with the Russian delegation without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, near the Pripyat River," the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
8:42 a.m.: Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced additional humanitarian assistance to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion on the country.
8:15 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces on alert over tensions with the West over Ukraine. Putin on Sunday accused NATO members of making “aggressive statements.”
7:36 a.m.: U.N. officials say the number of refugees from Ukraine who have crossed to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and other countries is escalating and is now at 368,000.
7:32 a.m. Israel’s prime minister says he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the recent developments in Ukraine.
6:34 a.m.: Ukraine lodges a complaint against Russia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
5:49 a.m.: Ukrainian ambassador gets standing ovation in Berlin.
5:22 a.m.: The International Judo Federation has issued a statement about Russian President Vladimir Putin: "In light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin’s status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation." Putin’s a black belt.
5:15 a.m.: India has begun evacuating its citizens stranded in Ukraine.
5:10 a.m.: Fears are mounting that Russian forces will turn more to targeting critical civilian infrastructure and mount indiscriminate shelling as the defenders of Kyiv maintain their resistance and hold ground despite redoubled Kremlin efforts to subjugate Ukraine’s capital. VOA’s Jamie Dettmer reports from the ground in Ukraine.
4:16 a.m.: The Kremlin had said a Russian delegation was in Belarus for talks with Ukraine, ABC News reports. But Ukraine says different.
3:45 a.m.: China’s decision to take a neutral stance on the invasion of Ukraine raises several questions. Did Beijing develop cold feet at the last moment, or did Russia go much further in its military aggression in Ukraine than China had expected? VOA’s Saibal Dasgupta takes a look.
3:08 a.m.: Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs invites foreigners to help defend Ukraine.
2:11 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that Russian troops have entered Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, and there’s fighting in the streets.
1:44 a.m.: Protesters rallying in support of Ukraine pray in Australia.
1:12 a.m.: A show of support outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
12:41 a.m.: Oil tanks burn after a massive explosion near Kyiv. CNN has video.
12:05 a.m.: A BBC reporter talks to women making Molotov cocktails in a park in Ukraine.
12:01 a.m.: Protests continue in Australia.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
