Clutching a mobile phone number of a woman she had never met, Nataliya Ableyeva crossed the border from Ukraine into Hungary on Saturday, entrusted with a precious cargo. A stranger's children.

The Eiffel Tower lit up on Friday in the national blue-and-yellow colours of Ukraine, at the request of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo which Hidalgo said was to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the wake of Russia's attack.

Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to “stand firm” against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: “The fight is here.”

US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts agreed Friday to send thousands of troops backed by air and naval support to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine in response to President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade, the organization’s top civilian official said.

The European Union has agreed to place Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on its list of sanctioned individuals following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday.

Ukrainian forces yesterday fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on the second day of an invasion that has claimed dozens of lives, as the EU approved sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin.

The Covid-19 pandemic continued its strong retreat this week around the world, with the number of cases cut by half since their peak a month ago.

Gunfire has been heard in central Kyiv and there are reports of heavy fighting in the city’s northern suburbs after Ukraine said it expected a Russian armoured attack on the capital and its outskirts.

Ukraine’s president said Friday his country had been left on its own to fight Russia after the Kremlin launched a large-scale invasion.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine risks making President Vladimir Putin an international pariah, but he does not fear such isolation -- quite the contrary, experts say.

Kyiv under attack

More than 50,000 people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the United Nations refugee chief said Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in their country on Friday, a day after Moscow launched an invasion of its southern neighbour.

Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on Friday that more than 1,000 Russian servicemen had been killed so far in the Ukrainian conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday Moscow was ready for talks if Ukraine's military surrendered, as he insisted that invading forces were looking to free the country from "oppression".

Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

Over the three decades since the fall of Soviet Union and the economic chaos that followed in Russia, many of those who became rich needed a safe heaven for their new-found wealth, and London became just that.

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country.

Ukraine's nuclear agency and interior ministry said on Friday they were recording increased radiation levels from the site of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Russia wants the Ukrainian people to be independent and have the possibility to freely define their destiny, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.