Ukraine accused Russian forces on Saturday of killing seven civilians in an attack on women and children trying to flee fighting near Kyiv, and France said Russian President Vladimir Putin had shown he was not ready to make peace.

Russian forces upped pressure on Kyiv yesterday, pummelling civilian areas in other Ukrainian cities, amid fresh efforts to get aid to the devastated port city of Mariupol.

Most business owners have shut up shop and fled Ukraine’s Mikolaiv, but florist Angela Kalisnik continues to sell tulips and roses just a short drive away from the frontline.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday authorized $200 million in weapons and other assistance for Ukraine, the White House said, as Ukrainian officials said heavy shelling by Russian forces were endangering attempted evacuations.

Ukraine was ready to negotiate to end the war started by Russia more than two weeks ago, but would not surrender or accept any ultimatums, the country's foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday.

As Russian and Ukrainian websites fall victim to cyber attacks and Moscow restricts access to some foreign social media, internet users across both countries have turned to online tools to help circumvent the blocks.

Russian forces pounding the port city of Mariupol shelled a mosque sheltering more than 80 people, including children, the Ukrainian government said Saturday as fighting also raged on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv.

Western sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station to crash, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos warned Saturday, calling for the punitive measures to be lifted.

Fighting raged northwest of Kyiv on Saturday, with the bulk of Russian ground forces 25 km (16 miles) from the centre of the Ukrainian capital, while several other cities were encircled and under heavy shelling, the UK Defence Ministry said.

The United Nations on Friday said it had no evidence Ukraine had a biological weapons program while Washington and its allies accused Russia of spreading the unproven claim as a possible prelude to launching its own biological or chemical attacks.

US President Joe Biden on Friday vowed that Russia would pay a "severe price" if it used chemical weapons in Ukraine, while also pledging to avoid provoking Moscow into "World War III."

Russia has drawn up plans to seize the assets of western companies leaving the country as the Kremlin pushes back against sweeping sanctions and the exodus of international businesses since its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian strikes hit fresh civilian targets in central and eastern Ukraine yesterday, including a city previously considered a safe haven, as Moscow’s troops edged closer to the capital Kyiv.

Fleeing the horrors of war in Ukraine, Bangladeshis are finding new hope in other European countries.

The body of engineer Md Hadisur Rahman, who was killed in a rocket attack on the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel stranded at a Ukraine port, is expected to reach Dhaka on March 13 or 14, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam yesterday.

The UN yesterday voiced alarm at Facebook’s decision to temporarily ease its policy on violent speech after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, warning it could spark “hate speech” against Russians.

International food and feed prices could rise by between 8 percent and 20percent as a result of the war, triggering a jump in global malnourishment, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday gave the green light for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine, doubling down an invasion that the West says has been losing momentum.

Nato must not allow Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to spill over into an open conflict between the alliance and Moscow, its chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday, warning a no-fly zone would likely lead to full-scale war.

Emmanuel Macron has led western European leaders in rebuffing appeals from Volodymyr Zelenskiy for fast-track EU membership for Ukraine despite the backing of eastern member states.