For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:
11:39 p.m.: People in California protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
11:06 p.m.: CBS News reports that Google will start sending air raid alerts to Ukrainian Android phone users.
10:36 p.m.: Britain will pay people to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, Reuters reports.
10:08 p.m.: An Associated Press journalist saw tanks firing on a nine-story apartment block and was among a group of medical workers who came under sniper fire Friday in the city surrounded by Russian soldiers. Here's a look at what's happening on the ground in Mariupol.
9:34 p.m.: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has unleashed a whole new round of anxieties for Europeans, The New York Times reports.
9:05 p.m.: Teenagers with three days of basic training are among those joining in Ukraine's defense. The BBC spoke to some of them.
8:28 p.m.: VOA's Yan Boechat has photos showing the fierce fighting near Irpin, Ukraine, about 25 kilometers north of Kyiv.
In Photos: Fierce Fighting Between Russia and Ukraine Forces Near Irpin
8:03 p.m.: Al-Jazeera has a graphic showing whith countries buy the most Russian weapons.
7:28 p.m.: A new mayor has been installed in Melitopol, according to CNN reports. The elected mayor was detained by armed men and accused of crimes by the prosecutor in Luhansk, a Russian-backed separatist region
6:52 p.m.: The International Atomic Energy Agency on Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
6:02 p.m.: For VOA, Yan Boechat reports Saturday from the town of Irpin, about 25 kilometers north of Kyiv, where Russian troops and Ukrainian soldiers are engaged in fierce fighting. Boechat was able to get inside the town and reach the last Ukrainian position very close to the Russian troops.
5:20 p.m.: The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Amsterdam announced they were splitting from the Moscow church, Agence France-Presse reports.
In a statement posted to its website it said that after a meeting, "the clergy unanimously announced that it is no longer possible for them to function within the Moscow Patriarchate and provide a spiritually safe environment for our faithful."
They have asked to join the Constantinople Orthodox Church.
5 p.m.: For VOA, Yan Boechat reports Saturday from the town of Irpin, about 25 kilometers north of Kyiv, where Russian troops and Ukrainian soldiers are engaged in fierce fighting.
4 p.m.: In Irpin, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, some residents were sheltering in place, while others were grabbing their suitcases and fleeing across planks where a bridge had been.
“When I woke up in the morning, everything was covered in smoke, everything was dark. We don’t know who is shooting and where,” resident Serhy Protsenko told The Associated Press, as he walked through his neighborhood as explosions sounded in the distance. “We don’t have any radio or information.”
3:30 p.m.: The United States on Saturday said it would rush up to $200 million in additional small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for more equipment to defend against heavy shelling by Russian forces.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday authorized the additional security assistance, the White House said, paving the way for the "immediate" shipment of fresh military equipment to Ukraine, a senior administration official said.
2:48 p.m.: In Eastern Europe, refugees from Ukraine are being welcomed as a potential workforce
More than half of the 2.5 million people who have fled Ukraine are now in Poland, but tens of thousands are also staying in Moldova and Bulgaria, which have some of the fastest shrinking populations.
"Those who are now arriving in the territory of the EU are well-qualified and meet the demand for labor," said Sieglinde Rosenberger of the University of Vienna, though she warned the welcoming attitude could change.
2:15 p.m.: Russia’s attempt to block independent news of its war in Ukraine has been met with a surge in digital circumvention tools.
Digital freedom groups report increasing use of VPNs and secure communication apps like Telegram as foreign media have evacuated their staff or suspended operations in Moscow and Russia’s media regulator has sought to block local sources of news. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka reports from New York.
1:56 p.m.: Russian engineers have arrived to measure radiation at a Ukrainian nuclear plant, the seizure of which during Moscow's invasion of the country sparked international alarm, officials said.
Russia occupied Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest atomic power plant, after its forces attacked it on March 4, Agence France-Presse reports. The plant’s reactors appeared undamaged after the assault despite a fire that broke out there after tanks bombarded it.
1:05 p.m.: The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a huge relief operation to aid and protect millions of Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion, both inside Ukraine and as refugees in neighboring countries, Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva for VOA.
12:55 p.m.: Britain’s defense ministry says in a tweet that its latest intelligence update finds Russia will need to find other sources to reinforce its “overstretched regular forces.”
12:51 p.m.: Donetsk regional governor says constant shelling is complicating efforts to get much-needed aid into Mariupol, Reuters reports.
12:02 p.m.: Russian officials say engineers from Russia's nuclear company Rosatom are checking radiation levels at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Ukrainian nuclear plant - Europe's largest - after its forces attacked it on March 4, AFP reports.
11:11 a.m.: Ukrainian officials accuse Russians of planning a referendum for "independence" in Ukraine's southern region, CNN reports.
10:38 a.m.: The U.N. Human Rights Office in Ukraine says that since start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 through March 11, it has recorded 1,581 civilian casualties: 579 killed, including 42 children; 1,002 injured, including 54 children, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes. And it adds that the actual toll is much higher.
10:30 a.m.: A French presidency official says Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show a willingness to end the war with Ukraine during a call today with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to The Guardian.
10:27 a.m. Moscow says arms shipments to Ukraine are “legitimate targets,” as European leaders call for a cease-fire, CNN reports.
10:24 a.m.: The eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been destroyed after Russia's invasion, the local governor says, according to Reuters.
10:12 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says about 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion, and that up to 600 Russian troops surrendered Friday, the Independent reports. VOA is unable to independently verify these numbers.
10:09 a.m.: Portuguese authorities have detained a rabbi over the naturalization of Russian tycoon and owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich, according to RFE/RL.
10:01 a.m.: Thousands of Russian tourists are stranded in Thailand’s beach resorts because of the war in Ukraine, many unable to pay their bills or return home because of sanctions and canceled flights, The Associated Press reports.
9:49 a.m.: The Vatican says it's available for "any kind of mediation" to help stop war in Ukraine, and is willing to do “everything possible” to assist in reaching a cease-fire and brokering an end to the war in Ukraine, according to CNN.
9:28 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweets that he held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on how to counter Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including "RF (the Russian Federation's) crimes against civilians."
8:58 a.m.: UNHCR reports more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24.
8:18 a.m.: The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says people trapped in besieged southern city of Mariupol are desperate, and "there are reports of looting and violent confrontations among civilians over what little basic supplies remain in the city."
8:02 a.m.: Intense battles underway northwest of Kyiv and other cities are surrounded by Russian forces.
7:59 a.m.: Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling and threats of fierce airstrikes continue to imperil attempted evacuations.
5:53 a.m.: Ukraine says Russia has shelled a mosque sheltering 80 in Mariupol, The Associated Press reports.
5:23 a.m.: The BBC reports that Ukraine alleges Russia has abducted Melitopol's mayor.
4:54 a.m.: Agence France Press reports on how the invasion of Ukraine has some rethinking former German chancellor Angela Merkel: "Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran center-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's reliance on Russian energy and neglecting Germany's defense in what appeared to be a devastating miscalculation of Putin's ambitions."
4:29 a.m.: Agence France-Presse reports that Greece's history with Russia gives it what one expert called "a Russophile dimension."
3:51 a.m.: NBC News has the latest on Indian students stranded in Ukraine.
3:24 a.m.: Russia says sanctions could threaten the International Space Station, Agence France-Presse reports.
2:52 a.m.: The BBC, citing the UK Ministry of Defence, says Russian forces are now about 25 kilometers from Kyiv.
2:22 a.m.: Ukrainian refugees arrive in Guatemala. Reuters has the story.
1:53 a.m.: Agence France-Presse has video showing the aftermath of a missile strike in Ukraine.
1:23 a.m.: Al-Jazeera talks to Ukrainian refugees.
12:52 a.m.: NBC News has a list of companies that have cut ties with Russia.
12:20 a.m.: NBC News reports that a Ukrainian actor and TV host has been killed in Ukraine.
12:01 a.m.: Reuters looks into the effects of Russia's new law, which punishes people for discrediting the military.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
