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Russia’s war in Ukraine: Latest developments

KYIV – Here are the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine:

RUSSIA ENCIRCLING KYIV

Russian forces advance ever closer to the capital from the north, west and northeast. Russian strikes also destroy an airport in the town of Vasylkiv, south of the city.

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says Kyiv is already effectively "under siege" as the army and volunteers prepare to defend the city, street by street.

'HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE' IN MARIUPOL

The leaders of France and Germany urge Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call to end the siege of Mariupol, where residents have been trapped without running water and power for 11 days and there are reports of people starving.

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The mayor says more than 1,500 civilians have been killed. Corpses are lying uncollected in the streets.

Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have described the quickly worsening humanitarian situation as "catastrophic".

Ukraine claims a mosque where about 80 civilians were sheltering was shelled but a person staying there denies the report, saying the bomb fell 700 metres away.

US AUTHORISES $200 MN MILITARY AID

US President Joe Biden authorises $200 million in additional military equipment for Ukraine. Washington has already authorised $350 million of military equipment, the largest such package in US history.

UKRAINE SAYS RUSSIANS SHOT 7 EVACUEES

Russian troops shot at a group of women and children evacuees leaving a village near Kyiv, killing seven, one of them a child, Ukraine's military intelligence service says.

SOME EVACUATIONS SUCCESSFUL

Nine of the 14 humanitarian corridors opened have been successful, Ukraine's deputy prime minister says, with nearly 13,000 people able to evacuate on Saturday on those routes.

1,300 UKRAINIAN TROOPS KILLED

"Around 1,300" Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of the invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky says, the first time he has given a toll for Ukraine's forces. Russia said on March 2 it had lost 498 soldiers, but Zelensky says it is closer to 12,000.

At least 579 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, the UN says, stressing that its figures were probably much lower than reality.

ECONOMY HIT

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says it will be necessary to restructure Ukraine's economy given the lack of supplies, and urges people in areas with no active combat to return to work.

ZELENSKY SAYS MOSCOW TAKING DIFFERENT APPROACH

Zelensky says the approach being taken by Moscow is in contrast to earlier talks at which Moscow only "issued ultimatums" and that he is "happy to have a signal from Russia" after Putin said he saw "some positive shifts" in their dialogue.

RUSSIAN ENGINEERS AT NUCLEAR PLANT

Russian engineers arrive to measure radiation at a Ukrainian nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, the seizure of which has sparked international alarm, officials say.

CANCER HOSPITAL HIT

A cancer treatment hospital and an eye clinic suffer damage in bombardments of the city of Mykolaiv, near the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa, a few days after a maternity hospital in Mariupol was shelled.

MAYOR ABDUCTED

Ukrainian lawmakers say Russian soldiers have abducted the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.

UN TO MEET

The United Nations will meet this week about Russia's war in Ukraine, though it is unclear if it will lead to the adoption of an official text, diplomats say.

NO 'WORLD WAR III'

Biden again rules out any direct intervention by the United States to halt Russia's invasion of Ukraine, warning that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against the Kremlin "is World War III".

BIO-WEAPONS CLAIMS REJECTED

Western countries reject Russian claims that the United States and Ukraine researched using bats to conduct biological warfare. Britain's ambassador to the UN says the claims are "utter nonsense".

AMSTERDAM'S ORTHODOX CLERGY SPLIT FROM MOSCOW PATRIARCH

The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Dutch city of Amsterdam announce they are splitting from the Moscow church because of threats to them over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

ABRAMOVICH DISQUALIFIED

The Premier League board disqualifies Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club after the Russian billionaire was placed under Western sanctions.

Abramovich has already announced his intention to sell the club.

2.6 MILLION FLEE

Almost 2.6 million people have fled the "senseless war" in Ukraine, the UN says – more than half to Poland.

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