Heres what you need to know about the Ukraine crisis right now:
HEADLINES
Russia attacked Ukrainian oil and gas facilities, sparking huge explosions, and some Russian forces entered the second city Kharkiv. A blast was heard after air raid siren in the capital Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were resisting a Russian advance.
* Western allies announced sweeping sanctions against Russia, including barring some key banks from the SWIFT payments system. The move will inflict a crippling economic blow to Moscow but also hurt Western companies and banks.
* At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed in Russias invasion, the head of the Ukrainian Health Ministry was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
* Russian forces blew up a natural gas pipeline in Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, while Russian-backed separatists said Ukraine had blown up an oil terminal in the breakaway Luhansk province. Russia continues to supply Europe with gas via Ukraine.
* Refugees continued to pour across Ukraines western borders, with around 100,000 reaching Poland in two days.
* Ukraine denied that it was refusing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia but said it was not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.
* A Ukrainian road-maintenance company said it was removing all road signs to hinder invading Russian forces: “Let us help them get straight to hell.”
* In a sea of blue and yellow flags and banners, protesters around the world expressed support for the people of Ukraine and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict.
* Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich said he was giving stewardship of Chelsea to the London soccer clubs foundation.
QUOTES
– “We will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country,” Zelenskiy said in a video message.
– “We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin,” the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and the United States wrote.
(Editing by William Mallard, Mark Potter and Christina Fincher)
