A rally in Berlin, Germany supporting Ukraine’s people against Russian invasion, February 27, 2022 (Markus Schreiber/AP)

See also EA on The Pat Kenny Show: Russia Runs Into Trouble Over Ukraine Invasion
EA on Radio Islam: Do Russians Support Putin’s War on Ukraine?
Sunday’s coverage: Russia’s War Facing Economic Pressure and Ukraine’s Defiance

UPDATE, 2220 GMT:

Finland is the latest European country to confirm delivery of weapons and other military aid to Ukraine.

Helsinki will send 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 bullets, 1,500 anti-tank weapons, and 70,000 food packages.

Finland joins Germany, Sweden, and the European Union in the first provision since 1945 of military assistance to another country which is under attack.

Finland has also authorized Estonia to send Finnish-owned field guns to Ukraine.

UPDATE 2210 GMT:

Russia’s stock market will remain closed on Tuesday.

The Central Bank initially delayed trading to 3 p.m. on Monday, but then cancelled the entire session.

UPDATE 2155 GMT:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has indicated that Ankara will invoke a 1936 treaty to limit the passage of Russian warships through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits linking the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean.

Erdoğan, who has maintained a close relationship with Vladimir Putin, had held back on invoking the 1036 Montreuz Convention, which gives Turkey the power to regulate the transit of warships and to close the straits to foreign vessels.

But on Sunday, Turkey finally called Russia’s invasion a “war”. allowing it to invoke articles under the pact that could limit the passage of some Russian vessels. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters, “We implemented what Montreux says and we will do so from now on. There has been no request for passage through the straits until today.”

UPDATE 1925 GMT:

European football’s UEFA has suspended Russian clubs and the national team from all European and international competitions until further notice.

UEFA said, “Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine.”

UPDATE 1920 GMT:

Ukrainian Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said discussions with Russia, on the Ukraine-Belarus border, were “very difficult” with an “extremely biased” Russian delegation over “the destructive processes it launched”.

UPDATE 1915 GMT:

The European Parliament has approved Ukraine’s request to apply for membership of the European Union, giving Kyiv candidate status.

UPDATE 1830 GMT:

The UK has followed the US and European Union with asset freezes on Russia’s largest banks.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the Government will present legislation for powers to prevent Russian banks from clearing payments in sterling. The Russian State will be barred from raising debt in the UK, and Russian companies will be blocked from accessing UK capital markets.

An export ban will be extended across sectors such as microelectronics and marine and navigation equipment.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said UK ports have been asked not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels.

UPDATE 1825 GMT:

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with Vladimir Putin.

Macron made the call at the request of the Ukrainian government. He said Russia must halt its offensive and establish a ceasefire.

The French leader also asked Putin to ensure that there would be no strikes on civilians and their homes, infrastructure, and main roads — particularly the road south out of Kyiv — during negotiations.

Macron’s office said Putin “confirmed his willingness to commit to all three points”.

But a US defense official assessed that Russian troops, now about 16 miles from Kyiv, are likely to try and encircle the city in coming days. He said the forces may become “more aggressive” in size and scale of attacks, portending an escalation of bombing of civilian areas.

UPDATE 1820 GMT:

In a further display of support, the European Union is supplying intelligence to Ukraine to monitor Russian troop movements.

UPDATE 1430 GMT:

More on the acclaim for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for shifting the international community into support of Kyiv against the Russian assault (see Original Entry):

Officials say Zelenskiy’s five-minute emotional appeal to European leaders on a Thursday night conference call “left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes” with his plea for an “honest assessment of his country’s ambition to join the European Union and for genuine help in its fight with the Russian invaders” through supply of food, ammunition, and fuel and imposition of sanctions.

Zelenskiy concluded by saying that the video conference might be the last time that the European leaders saw him alive.

A European official said, “It was extremely, extremely emotional. He was essentially saying, ‘Look, we are here dying for European ideals.’”

Another official described Zelenskiy facing an attack as he spoke by telephone with European Union Council President Charles Michel on Friday night: “The President had to cut the call short. He said, ‘Charles, Charles, Charles, I’ve got to stop, we are under fire’.”

UPDATE 1359 GMT:

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry says dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv on Monday morning,

Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to establish a position in the city on Sunday (see Original Entry).

UPDATE 1350 GMT:

The US is stepping up sanctions on Russia’s Central Bank to freeze its American assets and prevent any American citizen from transacting with it.

The Biden Administration is also blocking the assets of the Bank’s Direct Investment Fund.

A “senior administration official” explained:

We wanted to put these actions in place before our markets open because what we learned over the course of the weekend from our allies and partners was the Russian Central Bank was attempting to move assets and there would be a great deal of asset flight starting on Monday morning from institutions around the world. So we’re taking these actions in a way that they will be effective immediately.

UPDATE 1135 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has announced Ukraine’s application for European Union membership under a “new special procedure”: “Our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal.”

He urged Russian troops to leave Ukraine: “As long as this criminal invasion continues, Russia is suffering losses as if the war passed through its territory.”

EU officials in Brussels said of the Ukrainian application, “This will need to be assessed very rapidly by the Council and the decision made as to whether to request an urgent opinion from the European Commission.”

UPDATE 1110 GMT:

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said at least 102 civilians have been killed and 304 injured in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bachelet said the actual number of casualties is likely to be “considerably higher”.

Most of these civilians were killed by explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and air strikes.

She said the number of Ukrainian refugees since last Thursday has reached 422,000, with many more displaced inside the country.

UPDATE 1100 GMT:

Forty Ukrainian civil society groups have called on the international community to establish safe zones for refugees inside Ukraine, and to provide technology to document Russian war crimes.

The Kyiv Declaration includes signatories such as the Ukrainian Helsinki Group for Human Rights, Come Back Alive, Ukraine Crisis Media Centre, and Women’s Perspectives. It calls for:

  • *Safe zones for refugees inside the country;
  • Rrovision of anti-tank missiles;
  • Sanctions including a ban on energy trading with Russia and a crackdown on the wealth of Russian oligarchs abroad including withdrawal of family visas;
  • Requisitioning of fuel, logistics support, and provision of emergency medical equipment such as field hospitals, mobile clinics, and trauma supplies;
  • Supply of technology and support to human rights groups and lawyers recording Russian war crimes.

Lithuania has announced that it will ask prosecutors at the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine”.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said, “There is new material coming in every day, but we have enough of it by now to file the request.”

Amnesty International said Russia’s reported use of cluster munitions “may constitute a war crime”.

It said a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped the munitions on a nursery and kindergarten in northeast Ukraine on Friday, killing three people including a child. Another child was wounded.

Amnesty Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said, “It is stomach-turning to see an indiscriminate attack on a nursery and kindergarten where civilians are seeking safe haven. Plain and simple, this should be investigated as a war crime.”

UPDATE 1045 GMT:

More on the Russian assault on the port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine:

Residents tell The Guardian of sheltering in basements after a night of bombardment. Anatoliy Lozar says, “We hear planes in the sky. It’s overcast and we can’t tell whether there are ours or Russians.”

Lozar, who is helping evacuate civilians, said Russian warplanes had bombed the village of Shyrokyne, 20km (12 miles) west of Mariupol. Ukrainian soldiers have been wounded, with helicopters rescuing them coming under Russian fire. However, the village, on the frontline with the Russian proxy “Donetsk People’s Republic”, is still under Ukrainian control.

We have become the new Stalingrad. We are killing Russians. Some have been taken prisoner. Families are sheltering in basements. They are terrified by what is happening. Huge numbers of volunteers have been joining the army. We have weapons. We will fight to the last man.

Russia is trying to seize the 250-km (165-km) coast along the Sea of Azov, between Russian-occupied Crimea and Mariupol.

Russian forces captured the small port city of Berdyansk on Thursday night.

UPDATE 0900 GMT:

The UK military says most of the Russian forces attacking Ukraine’s capital Kyiv are more than 30 km (18 miles) from the city.

The military added that the Russians were slowed by the defense of the Hostomel Airport, less than 40 km (25 miles) from Kyiv.

Moscow had claimed capture of the airport last Friday after an intense battle. The site is vital as a potential staging area for assault forces moving on the capital.

The UK Defense Intelligence Agency says heavy fighting continues around the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv.

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Fighting around the port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine continued throughout last night, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Administration.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Frustrated by his failure to topple Ukraine’s government amid by the imminent shock of sanctions on Russia, Vladimir Putin declares that nuclear forces are on high alert.

After Putin’s initial plan to invade the Ukrainian capital Kyiv last Thursday quickly stalled, Russian forces were repelled on Sunday in their attempt to establish a position in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv.

Russian armored units entered Kharkiv, in the northeast near the Ukraine border, after a night of heavy shelling. But they encountered fierce resistance, leading to the destruction of a column and the surrender of troops in groups of 5 to 10, throwing their weapons into the street.

The Governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, wrote, “Control over Kharkiv is completely ours! A complete cleansing of the city from the enemy is happening. The Russian enemy is absolutely demoralized.”

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, wrote, “Kharkiv will become for Russians a Ukrainian Stalingrad.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Russians still had not succeeded in surrounding the city. Russian forces renewed shelling of both Kharkiv and Kyiv overnight

After five days, Russia has only occupied one city — Melitopol in southeast Ukraine — outside the area in the east controlled by Russian proxy groups. The offensive is reportedly hindered by problems with logistics and supply lines.

Soon after the failure in Kharkiv, Putin made a brief statement ordering “a special service regime” — units with nuclear arms — in the Russian army to go on high alert.

The Russian leader gave the pretext of “aggressive statements” by “top officials in NATO’s leading countries” and “the illegitimate sanctions, which are very well-known to everybody”.

Zelenskiy’s Rise

In contrast to Putin’s frustration, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy continued to present an image of resolve and defiance on Sunday.

Zelenskiy addressed the nation on several occasions on Sunday, beginning with a denunciation of the Russian assault on civilian areas:

Today, there is not a single thing in the country that the occupiers do not consider an acceptable target. They fight against everyone. They fight against all living things – against kindergartens, against residential buildings and even against ambulances.

He encouraged Ukrainians, “We will fight as long as it takes to liberate the country.”

Later in the day, with the Russians meneuvering over the Ukrainian resistance, Zelenskiy accepted talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border — but only without any conditions. He explained:

I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try so that later not a single citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as President, tried to stop the war, when there was even a small, but still a chance.

The stand of the President and his ministers has been acclaimed at home and abroad. More than 90% of Ukrainians said they approved of his handling of the war, and diplomats credited him with garnering significant European, US, and international military, economic, and political support.

The office of one foreign leader summarized, “We are in awe of him. He may not eventually be able to save Ukraine, or change Russia, but he is changing Europe.”

Russian Rouble Sinking Amid Sanctions

US, European, and international sanctions expanded over the weekend. Saturday’s cutoff of Russia from the SWIFT global financial system was followed on Sunday by almost 20 European countries closing airspace to Russian airlines.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that coordinated action “will paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank” and “prohibit Russian oligarchs from using their financial assets on our markets”.

A European official said on Sunday of the freeze on the Central Bank’s assets, rendering it unable to sell foreign currency reserves, “It was kept in our back pocket, but it is going to mean a run on the ruble on Monday that they will not contain.”

On Monday morning, his prediction was upheld: the Russian rouble — already at a historic low — plunged another 28%, dropping to 107:1 v. the US dollar. Russians stood in long queues at ATMs, hoping to withdraw money before banks halted operations.

The European Central Bank said that Sberbank Europe, the subsidiary of State-owned Sberbank Russia, is failing or likely to fail along with its Croatian and Slovenian branches./p>

The Russian Central Bank tried to hold the line by buying gold on the domestic market and providing unlimited liquidity — effectively, printing of money — for domestic markets. It is easing requirements for collateral to get loans, and ordering institutions to block attempts by foreign clients to sell Russian bonds and stocks.

The economic shock could add to signs of discontent among the Russian public for Putin’s war. Almost 1,500 protesters were detained on Sunday, raising the total since last Thursday to more than 4,500.

Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian TV host who was sanctioned last week, appealed to viewers:

I know some of you are finding this tough. We’ll overcome it all, we’ll endure it all. We’ll rebuild our own economy from scratch, an independent banking system, manufacturing and industry. We’ll rely on ourselves.

The US and European countries also stepped up the supply of weapons and military equipment to Kyiv. In historic firsts, Germany, Sweden, and the European Union provided military assistance to a country under attack.

The EU announced plans for €450 million ($502 million) for weapons, and another €50 million ($56 million) for items such as medical supplies.

Belgium also announced that it will dispatch thousands of machine guns and hundreds of anti-tank grenade launchers, and the US authorized more humanitarian aid. Greece announced “defense equipment”, and Ukraine’s neighbor Romania is sending £2.5 million ($3.35 million) in fuel, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, helmets, military equipment, food, and water.