President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says prisoners who have real combat experience will be released from jail and will be able to "compensate for their guilt in the hottest spots of war".
He made the announcement as delegates from Ukraine and Russia meet in Belarus for peace talks.
Look back at how the day unfolded in our live blog.
Key events
- Talks underway between Ukranian and Russian delegates in Belarus
- UN: 102 civilians killed but real number likely 'considerably higher'
- Ukraine embassy fielding calls from Australians wanting to join fight against Russia
- Satellite images shows aftermath of shelling in Kharkiv
- Blasts heard in Ukraine's Kyiv, Kharkiv
- Ukrainian military says Sunday was difficult for its forces
- At least 16 Ukrainian children killed, says UN ambassador
- Australian sanctions against Putin come into effect
- EU will back Ukraine despite Russian nuclear threat
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine kills 352 civilians, including 14 children
- FIFA bans matches in Russia, no flag or anthem for team
- Russian forces appear to shift to siege warfare in Ukraine, US official says
- Putin's nuclear alert threat a pressure tactic, says Ukraine's Foreign Minister
Live updates
By Jonathan Hepburn
We'll end this blog now — but we'll be back in a few hours
This is where I leave you, but my colleagues will be starting a fresh blog in the morning, which you can now find here, as the war continues and both sides digest the outcome of the first round of peace talks.
By Jonathan Hepburn
Peace talks have ended — but that's about all I can tell you
There is a bit of an information vacuum, but we are hearing that both sides are returning to their respective capitals to discuss things before meeting up again in a few days.
By Jonathan Hepburn
Joint European-Russian mission to Mars 'very unlikely'
The European Space Agency says the planned launch of a joint mission with Russia to Mars this year is now "very unlikely" due to sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
Following a meeting of officials from its 22 member states, the agency said in a statement that it was assessing the consequences of sanctions for its cooperation with Russia's Roscosmos space agency.
"Regarding the ExoMars program continuation, the sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely," it said.
The launch was already postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak and technical problems.
The mission's goal is to put a lander on the red planet to help determine whether there has ever been life on Mars.
On Saturday, Roscosmos said it was pulling its personnel from the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana.
By Jonathan Hepburn
Ukraine signs application to join EU
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has signed an official request for Ukraine to join the European Union.
Mr Zelenskyy has asked the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership immediately under a special procedure as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces.
By Jonathan Hepburn
Moscow residents brace for rough ride as sanctions bite
Some Moscow residents said they were yet to feel the effects of sweeping Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, while others were bracing for a grim economic downturn ahead.
The Russian rouble plunged 18 per cent against the US dollar on Monday and the central bank more than doubled its key rate to 20 per cent in an emergency move after the West imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over the weekend.
"The economic situation here will get a lot worse. This is inevitable in the circumstances," said Anastasiya.
"But it's still incomparable with the losses of people in Ukraine, who are dying in their homes through the fault of our forces."
"We're in touch with our Ukrainian friends and I have no words that could comfort them," she added, declining to give her surname.
There are no polling data yet on the public's view of Moscow's invasion.
The sanctions are widely expected to hit the economy hard and inflict pain on ordinary Russians, compounding years of stagnant or falling real wages and driving up inflation.
It is still unclear whether that will undermine support for Vladimir Putin or whether he can get Russians to rally around the flag in the face of what he has portrayed as aggressive behaviour by the West.
"Cars have got a lot more expensive ... Prices are rising of course, savings are shrinking and stocks are falling," said Anton, another Moscow resident.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jonathan Hepburn
Ukrainian sailor tries to sink Russian arms tycoon's yacht, would do it again
A Ukrainian sailor who tried to sink a superyacht allegedly belonging to a Russian arms tycoon was on his way to his native Kyiv on Monday, determined to join the fight against invading forces there.
Taras Ostapchuk said he was hoping to join Ukrainian soldiers or civil militias trying to hold back Russian troops advancing towards the capital, Kyiv, and other parts of his homeland.
"All Ukrainian citizens must be defenders of our fatherland because it is being subject to Russian aggression," he told the Associated Press from Barcelona hours after being released from detention in Mallorca where the yacht was docked and just before boarding a flight to the Polish capital, Warsaw.
"We must stop this war," Ostapchuk said from the other side of the phone.
The 55-year-old engineer's act of defiance happened on Saturday at a luxurious marina in Mallorca. His target was the Lady Anastasia, a 48-meter-long (457-feet-long) superyacht whose owner, according to Ostapchuk, is Alexander Mikheev.
Mikheev, 61, is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the weapons export arm of Russia's state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec. According to the brief biography on the company's website, Mikheev was formerly head of defence contractor JSC Russian Helicopters.
A local Civil Guard spokesman said the yacht's other crew members alerted authorities of the attempted sinking. Officers who showed up at the marina on Saturday found two open hatches letting in water. The yacht was saved and Ostapchuk was arrested, the officer said.
The sailor offered no contrition when questioned by a local judge on Sunday: "He regards the owner of the yacht as a criminal because he earns money selling arms that, according to him, kill Ukrainians," the judge wrote summarizing the interrogation according to the copy seen by AP.
The sailor considered what he would do for a couple of hours before deciding to take revenge. According to his court deposition, the sailor acted to avoid polluting or causing harm to others by closing the yacht's fuel valves and alerting the other crew members, all of them Ukrainians.
A fight broke between Ostapchuk and his colleagues, who ended up calling the marina's management.
The Civil Guard said they weren't able to confirm yacht's ownership.
"These luxurious boats are usually registered in tax havens under front companies that are not necessarily their final owners," said a Civil Guard spokesman who isn't authorised to provide his name.
Reporting by AP
By Jonathan Hepburn
UNHCR to consider request for investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine
Ukraine and its allies called for a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes committed by Russia during its military actions in Ukraine.
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted on Monday to accept Ukraine's request to hold an urgent debate on Thursday on Russia's invasion. A Ukrainian draft resolution will be considered at the urgent debate.
If adopted, a commission of three independent experts would investigate all alleged violations of international law in Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014 and in other areas of Ukraine since Russia's invasion last week.
Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Yevheniia Filipenko, told the Human Rights Council: "Russian forces attempt to sow panic among the population by specifically targeting kindergartens and orphanages, hospitals and mobile medical aid brigades thus committing acts that may amount to war crimes."
Sheba Crocker, US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said in a statement to Reuters that Monday's vote to hold the debate showed Russia was totally isolated on the Council.
"Only 4 countries supported Russia's position, clearly demonstrating the international community is united in condemning Russia's egregious action," she said.
Russia's ambassador Gennady Gatilov said it had launched "special operations to stop the tragedy" in Ukraine's breakaway Donbass region, and that Russia's forces were not firing on civilian targets in Ukraine.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jonathan Hepburn
European Union to provide satellite intelligence to Ukraine in addition to arms
The European Union has asked its satellite centre in Madrid to provide intelligence to Ukraine about Russian troop movements and EU countries are determined to further increase their bilateral military support to Kyiv, head EU diplomat Josep Borrell said.
This is the first time the European Union, which was founded to promote peace in Europe, has provided lethal aid into a conflict.
Germany has broken its long-standing policy of banning weapon exports to conflict zones and Sweden broke its long-standing neutrality. Both are sending anti-tank rockets, among other weapons and supplies.
On Sunday, Finland agreed to let Estonia supply Ukraine with field guns purchased from Finland under an agreement that originally prohibited selling them on.
At least one Western country is studying a request from Ukraine to provide fighter jets, a European official said. She spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not yet public.
EU defence ministers were to meet to discuss how to get the weaponry into Ukraine. A trainload of Czech equipment arrived on Sunday and another was en route on Monday, though blocking such shipments will clearly be a key Russian priority.
Josep Borrell told a news conference the EU sanctions imposed on Russia will have a cost for Europe.
"But we have to be ready to pay the price, or we will have to pay a much higher price in the future," Borrell said.
"Relations with Russia will no longer be determined by trade," he said.
He added that Europe must move as quickly as possible to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Russia is the world's largest exporter of natural gas, and it satisfies about a third of Europe's consumption.
Russia is also a major producer of petroleum products.
With reporting from AP and Reuters
By Jonathan Hepburn
UN General Assembly holding an emergency special session on Ukraine
The United Nations is live streaming the meeting on YouTube:
By Jonathan Hepburn
Sporting sanctions against Russia extend to soccer, putting World Cup attendance at risk
FIFA is set to suspend Russia's national teams from international football until further notice due to the country's invasion of Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Monday.
FIFA is in advanced talks with European soccer body UEFA over the matter and a decision could be made later on Monday (local time).
European governing body UEFA is due to hold a meeting at 6pm Central European Time (3am AEST) on Monday to decide on several issues relating to Russian football.
Russia is scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24 and if they remained suspended at that time, they would be out of the World Cup.
The Polish FA had said that they will refuse to play against the Russian team.
The suspension would cover all Russian national teams — the women's team are due to play in UEFA's Euro 2022 competition in England in July.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jonathan Hepburn
US shuts embassy in Belarus, approves evacuations from embassy in Moscow
The United States shuttered its embassy in Minsk and allowed non-emergency employees and family members to leave its embassy in Moscow as Russia pushed on with its invasion of Ukraine for a fifth day.
"We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
A photo posted on Twitter by US ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher on Monday showed mission staff lowering the American flag. All American staff have left Belarus, Fisher tweeted.
US citizens in Belarus should also depart immediately, the State Department said in a separate travel advisory.
The United States had already relocated its Ukraine embassy operations from the capital Kyiv to the western city of Lviv two weeks ago as Russian forces amassed at Ukraine's borders.
The latest evacuations come after Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday in the face of a barrage of Western reprisals for his war on Ukraine, which said it had repelled Russian ground forces attacking its biggest cities.
On Sunday, the US State Department said American citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately on commercial flights, citing an increasing number of airlines cancelling flights and countries closing their airspace to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia on Monday barred airlines from 36 countries from using Russian airspace.
European nations and Canada on Sunday moved to shut their airspace to Russian aircraft. The United States is considering similar action, but has yet to make a final decision, US officials have said.
US officials on Monday warned Belarus will also face consequences for its role in aiding Russia with the attack as Washington and its allies escalated severe economic sanctions on Moscow. The EU also warned it would impose new sanctions on Belarus this week.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jonathan Hepburn
Peace talks are continuing
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, who announced the start of the talks, says on Twitter they are continuing. No details have been announced yet.
By Jonathan Hepburn
Russian-British businessman Lebedev pleads with Putin to end Ukraine war
Evgeny Lebedev, the ennobled British-Russian media boss and son of a former KGB spy, pleaded with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
Mr Lebedev, the son of Alexander Lebedev, used a letter in the Evening Standard London newspaper he owns to call for Putin to use peace negotiations to stop the conflict in Ukraine.
"As Europe stands on the brink of another world war, and the world on the brink of a possible nuclear disaster, I plead with you to use today's negotiations to bring this terrible conflict in Ukraine to an end," he wrote.
"As a Russian citizen, I plead with you to stop Russians killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters. As a British citizen, I ask you to save Europe from war."
Mr Lebedev was made a lifelong member of Britain's upper house of parliament in July 2020 with the title Baron Lebedev of Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and of Siberia in the Russian Federation
He also owns the Independent daily online British newspaper.
His father once worked as a spy at the Soviet embassy in London but then built a fortune by trading securities in the chaos that followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
On February 25, the day after Russia's invasion began, he tweeted that it was "an unimaginable tragedy"
Other Russian businessmen have spoken out against the war: Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have publicly called for peace and another billionaire who requested anonymity told Reuters the war would be "catastrophic in all senses: for the economy, for relations with the rest of the world, for the political situation".
One of the highest-profile Russian oligarchs, Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, travelled to Belarus to help broker peace talks, reportedly after being contacted by Ukraine for his assistance.
This article contains content that is not available.
By Jacqueline Howard
Olympic committee recommends banning Russian, Belarusian athletes from international events
The executive board of the International Olympic Committee has recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events.
The IOC said it made the decision "in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants".
The IOC also urged federations to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus would be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus.
"Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed," the statement added.
The IOC also said it had taken the ad hoc decision to withdraw the Olympic Order from all persons who currently have an important function in the government of the Russian Federation, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It said it made the decision based on "the exceptional circumstances of the situation and considering the extremely grave violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter by the Russian government in the past".
By Jacqueline Howard
As the Ukraine crisis deepens, will Vladimir Putin press the nuclear button? | The World
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled that the war in Ukraine could escalate into a nuclear catastrophe after putting his nation's nuclear forces on high alert. Professor Maria Rost Rublee from Monash University speaks to The World about how likely Putin is to choose the nuclear
By Jacqueline Howard
Hungary will not allow lethal weapons for Ukraine to transit its territory
Hungary will not send troops or weapons to Ukraine and will not allow lethal weapons to transit its territory in order to keep the country safe, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday during a visit to Kosovo.
"The reason for making this decision is that such deliveries might become targets of hostile military action and ... we have to ensure the security of Hungary ... that we are not getting involved in that war," Mr Szijjarto said.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jacqueline Howard
Luxembourg, Slovakia pledge aid to Ukraine
Luxembourg will send 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents to Ukraine, Defence Minister Francois Bausch said in a statement.
On top of this, Luxembourg is offering allied countries transport capacities on board of its A400M military transport plane and chartered aircraft, Bausch added.
Slovakia, too, has delivered military material to Ukraine.
The government approved two batches of supplies worth 15.4 million euros, including 486 air-defence missiles and anti-tank rockets, 100 air-defence launchers, 120mm artillery ammunition and fuel.
The European Union agreed on Sunday, for the first time in its history, to fund weapons for Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia's attack
Reporting by Reuters
By Jacqueline Howard
Switzerland to adopt EU sanctions against Russia
Neutral Switzerland will adopt European Union sanctions against Russians involved in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and freeze their assets, the government said, in a sharp deviation from the country's traditions.
Switzerland also adopted financial sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, effective immediately, it said.
"Switzerland reaffirms its solidarity with Ukraine and its people; it will be delivering relief supplies for people who have fled to Poland," the government said, renewing its offer to mediate in the dispute.
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis had said on Sunday that it was "very probable" that Switzerland would follow the EU line.
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS, a subsidiary of Lufthansa) is not flying through Russian airspace.
"SWISS is currently not using Russian airspace for overflights," it said.
"We continue to closely monitor the development of the situation and are in close exchange with the Swiss and international authorities as well as with the Lufthansa Group for our operational decisions," it said in response to a query.
Reporting by Reuters
By Jacqueline Howard
Video shows attack on city of Kharkiv
Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine, has been subject to a shelling attack by Russian forces today.
The two videos below have been verified using geolocation methods. A warning, this is distressing footage.
By Jacqueline Howard
US blocks transactions with Russian banks
The United States has blocked Americans from engaging in any transactions involving Russia's central bank and imposed sanctions on a key Russian sovereign wealth fund, the US Treasury Department said.
The sanctions also target Russia's National Wealth Fund and its Ministry of Finance, the department said in a statement.
Operations at the US embassy in Minsk have been suspended and non-emergency employees and family members are authorised to voluntarily depart the US embassy in Moscow, Secretary of State Blinken said in a statement.
"We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine," Mr Blinken said.
