NATO allies rejected Ukraine's demand for no-fly zones on Friday, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly would lead to a broader, even more brutal European war so far limited to Russia's assault on its neighbour.

President Vladimir Putin urged Russia's neighbours on Friday not to escalate tensions, eight days after Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine.

NATO will defend all its allies and territory against a Russian attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday, as he arrived for a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels.

Finland’s president yesterday called for the country to remain calm while deciding whether to apply to join Nato as a defence against potential Russian aggression.

The UN human rights chief yesterday slammed Russia’s attack on Ukraine, warning of a “massive impact” on the rights of millions and cautioning that heightened nuclear threat levels showed all of humanity was at risk.

An army of volunteer hackers is rising up in cyberspace to defend Ukraine, though internet specialists are calling on geeks and other “hacktivists” to stay out of a potentially very dangerous computer war.

France's highest court on Wednesday upheld a ban on barristers wearing the hijab and other religious symbols in Lille law courts, a judgment which could set a precedent for the rest of the country.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met on the Belarusian border to discuss a ceasefire yesterday while invading Russian forces met with determined resistance from Ukrainian troops and civilians on the fifth day of the conflict.

Nearly 200 nations approved a major UN climate change report detailing the accelerating impacts of global warming yesterday, at the end of a sometimes fraught two-week meeting overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine will create an “IT army” to fight against Russia’s digital intrusions, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Saturday night.

Russian troops enter Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv in the east of the country, with Ukraine saying its forces are “eliminating the enemy” in street fighting after some Russian light vehicles slip through defences. , The regional governor said on his social media yesterday that Ukraine has full control over Kharkiv.

Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia at the highest U.N. court in The Hague for disputes between states, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.

Some 368,000 people have fled abroad from the fighting in Ukraine, the UN refugee agency said on Sunday, citing data provided by national authorities.

Ukrainian forces yesterday repulsed an attack on Kyiv, officials said yesterday, as Russian forces kept pounding Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day running.

Iurii Melnyk, an associate professor of journalism at the Ivan Franko National University of Ukraine’s Lviv, is keeping the world posted after Russia began its invasion on February 24. The Daily Star’s Diplomatic Correspondent Porimol Palma caught up with him on Friday for on-the-ground information.

About 150 Bangladeshis have entered Poland from Ukraine over the last two days, fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24.

Ukrainian soldiers beat back a Russian attack in the capital Kyiv only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warns Moscow would attempt to take the city before dawn.

Snactions against Russia

Refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to pour across its western borders yesterday, with around 100,000 reaching Poland in two days and some finding temporary sanctuary in sports halls and others in churches.

All Russian units in Ukraine were on Saturday given the order to resume their offensive from all directions after a pause on Friday, the RIA news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying.