The US lower house has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, as the country wakes to a third week of war.
Look back at the day's updates as they happened in the blog below.
Key events
- The US House of Representatives passes a bill imposing a ban on Russian oil and other energy products
- US Vice President Kamala Harris parachuted into 'messy' fighter jet situation with Poland
- Ukraine plans to pull troops from peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo
- More than 1 million children have fled Ukraine since start of invasion
- US rejects 'high-risk' Polish jet transfer to Ukraine
- Ukrainian officials say Russian air strike hit children's and maternity hospital in besieged port city of Mariupol
- Ukrainians 'begging' for ceasefire
Live updates
By Nicholas McElroy
That's all from the Russia-Ukraine blog today
There will more updates here as they happen.
As always, thanks for following along.
By Nicholas McElroy
Rio Tinto says it's in the process of severing Russia business ties
Rio Tinto says it will sever all business ties with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The company said in a statement that it "is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business".
No timeline has been announced for the severance, which may be a complex disentanglement given the miner's ties with Russia.
In Australia, Rio Tinto co-owns one of the world's largest alumina refineries — Queensland Alumina Ltd — with aluminium giant Rusal, which controls a 20 per cent stake of the company.
Rusal, which was founded by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, weathered sanctions from the United States in 2018 — which were lifted the following year — but the company has since avoided any additional penalties during the recent wave of sanctions sparked by Russia's war on Ukraine.
Rio Tinto's announcement follows an exodus of corporations from Russia, from retailers, including H&M and Apple, and major commodities companies BP, Shell and Equinor.
Reporting by AFP
By Nicholas McElroy
US citizens seek to join foreign fighters in Ukraine
Ukraine's embassy has a new additional role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.
Diplomats working out of the embassy are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an increasingly brutal Russian onslaught.
"They really feel that this war is unfair, unprovoked," said Ukraine's military attaché, Major General Borys Kremenetskyi.
"They feel that they have to go and help."
US volunteers represent just a small subset of foreigners seeking to fight for Ukraine, who in turn comprise just a tiny fraction of the international assistance that has flowed into the country. Still, it is a reflection of the passion that the attack and the mounting civilian casualties have stirred.
"This is not mercenaries who are coming to earn money," Major General Borys Kremenetskyi said.
"This is people of goodwill who are coming to assist Ukraine to fight for freedom."
The US government discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine, which raises legal and national security issues.
Since the invasion, the embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for service, the "vast majority" of them American citizens, said Kremenetskyi, who oversees the screening of potential US recruits.
Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected and didn't even make it to the Zoom interview, the general said. They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background or weren't suitable for other reasons such as age, including a 16-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man.
Reporting by The Associated Press
By Nicholas McElroy
US lower house approves $18.85 billion in aid for Ukraine
The House approved a massive spending bill Wednesday night that would rush $US13.6 billion ($18.85 billion) in aid to battered Ukraine and its European allies.
Senate approval is expected by week's end or perhaps slightly longer.
The Ukraine aid included $6.5 billion for the US costs of sending troops and weapons to Eastern Europe and equipping allied forces there in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion and bellicose threats.
There was another $6.8 billion to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies, and more to help federal agencies enforce economic sanctions against Russia and protect against cyber threats at home.
Reporting by The Associated Press
By Nicholas McElroy
What constitues a war crime and who could try Russia for alleged crimes committed during its invasion of Ukraine?
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and several European countries have opened investigations into suspected war crimes being committed in Ukraine.
Attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, including the bombing of a maternity and children's hospital on Wednesday, have prompted international outrage.
While many countries and international bodies have accused Russia of violating international humanitarian laws, Russia has firmly denied targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine.
So what happens if a case can be made against Russia, who could potentially be charged, and which courts have the authority to try such a case?
By Nicholas McElroy
Ukraine's top diplomat says Putin underestimated resistance, wants Russian ambassador expelled
Ukraine's representative in Australia says Russia will not win the war while Ukrainians are determined to fight for their freedom, while adding that he would like to see Russia's ambassador to Australia sent packing.
In a speech to the National Press Club Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires in Australia, Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, spoke about how the people who have stayed in his home country are determined to beat back the Russian invasion in whatever way they can.
"Mr Putin truly believed that people will greet with flowers, but the fact is that people are greeting with molotov cocktails," he said.
"It's also very important because you can win a war against [a] foreign army, but you cannot win the war against free people who are determined to fight for their freedom."
Mr Shalkivskyi said his 73-year-old mum was still in the country and was one of many recently inspired to help.
"She saw some sabotage groups and I was worried about her and asking well maybe you should leave," he said.
"But she texted me, 'You know, I went to the balcony — I think it's a good position. Can you send me recipe of molotov cocktail.'"
By Nicholas McElroy
By Nicholas McElroy
The US House of Representatives passes a bill imposing a ban on Russian oil and other energy products
The US lower house overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday night that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States.
It is an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine.
Going further than Biden's import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through the US Congress would also encourage a review of Russia's status in the World Trade Organization and signal US support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the US works to economically isolate the regime.
Politicians in both parties have been eager to act, willing to risk higher gas prices at home in order to support Ukraine with a show of US bipartisanship. The legislation was approved Wednesday, 414-17, and it will now go to the Senate.
Reporting from The Associated Press
By Nicholas McElroy
Sarah Ferguson speaks about life in the besieged city of Kyiv
Nearly two weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and residents in the capital awoke on Wednesday to an air alert, urging them to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible for fear of incoming missiles.
Investigative reporter Sarah Ferguson is in Kyiv, on assignment for Four Corners and she speaks to Leigh Sales about daily life for Ukrainians.
By Nicholas McElroy
A Ukrainian maternity hospital has been hit in an air strike. Here's what we know so far
A maternity and children's hospital has been significantly damaged in an air strike in Ukraine.
The hospital is in the besieged port city of Mariupol in Ukraine's south-east, not far from the Russian border.
The number of casualties is still to be determined, with authorities searching through dangerous rubble for survivors.
By Nicholas McElroy
US Vice President Kamala Harris parachuted into 'messy' fighter jet situation with Poland
Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to Warsaw to thank Poland for taking in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion took an unexpected turn before she even left Washington.
She's parachuted into the middle of unexpected diplomatic turbulence over fighter jets.
The Polish government on Tuesday came out with a plan to transfer its Russian-made fighter planes to a US military base in Germany, with the expectation that the planes would then be handed over to Ukrainian pilots trying to fend off Russian forces.
In turn, the US would supply Poland with US-made jets with "corresponding capabilities."
But the Poles didn't run that idea past the Biden administration before going public with it, and the Pentagon quickly dismissed the idea as not tenable. Warplanes flying from a US and NATO base into airspace contested with Russia would raise the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday stressed that Poland's support to Ukraine has been defensive and that any decision whether to make the MiG-29 planes available to Ukraine would be up to the US and NATO — and then only if all nations agreed.
Around the same time that Harris was arriving in Warsaw, the Pentagon was publicly rebuffing the idea of providing MiGs to Ukraine, even through a second country.
The plane issue provided a rare moment of disharmony in what has been a largely united effort by NATO allies to assist Ukraine without getting embroiled in a wider war with Russia.
And it meant Harris was flying into fractious terrain Wednesday as she opens a two-day visit to Poland and Romania and tries to patch things up.
"This fighter jet situation is a messy deal, and Harris will have to go there and smooth things out," said Daniel Fried, who served as US ambassador to Poland for President Bill Clinton and was a senior adviser in the George W Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
"There's plenty of discussion on the way ahead that needs to be had with the Poles that is better to have in an in-person conversation."
Reporting by The Associated Press
By Nicholas McElroy
These photos show the devastation following a Russian air strike on a Ukrainian hospital
By Nicholas McElroy
By Nicholas McElroy
Ukraine plans to pull troops from peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The United Nations has received official notification from Ukraine that it intends to withdraw about 250 troops serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo as well as military equipment, including some aircraft.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed the withdrawal on Wednesday stressing that every country has a right to withdraw military forces contributed to peacekeeping operations.
He acknowledged "the tremendous role Ukraine has played, especially on issues of transport and helicopters."
Ms Dujarric said it is up to the Ukrainian government to explain why it asked to pull out the troops and the UN will be contacting other countries to replace the troops and equipment in the Congo mission known as MONUSCO, which has about 17,800 personnel.
The UN spokesman said Ukrainians remain present in smaller numbers in other UN peacekeeping missions — 13 in South Sudan, 12 in Mali, five in Cyprus, four in Abyei and three in the UN political mission in Kosovo.
Reporting by The Associated Press
By Nicholas McElroy
Chernobyl power cut raises concerns in Ukraine, atomic agency remains calm
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereschuk, has told the ABC's Four Corners that the world faces a potential nuclear catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power station after shelling cut power to the Ukrainian plant.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for a ceasefire to fix power issues and said reserve diesel generators could power the plant for 48 hours but after that he would be concerned about radiation leaks.
However the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was informed of the loss of power at the nuclear plant but that it presented no "critical impact on safety".
By Nicholas McElroy
Attack on Mariupol children's hospital wounds at least 17 people
A Russian airstrike devastated a hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol amid growing warnings from the West that Moscow's invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn.
Ukrainian officials said the attack wounded at least 17 people.
The ground shook more than a mile away when the Mariupol complex was hit by a series of blasts that blew out windows and ripped away much of the front of one building.
Police and soldiers rushed to the scene to evacuate victims, carrying out a heavily pregnant and bleeding woman on a stretcher as light snow drifted down on burning and mangled cars and trees shattered by the blast.
Another woman wailed as she clutched her child. In the courtyard, a blast crater extended at least two stories deep.
"Today Russia committed a huge crime," said Volodymir Nikulin, a top regional police official, standing in the ruins.
"It is a war crime without any justification."
By Jacqueline Howard
Doctors living in the ward and sick kids protected in the basement at Kyiv children's hospital
Ukraine's largest children's hospital has been transformed into a bunker-like emergency department, with doctors forced to treat patients in the basement.
Clinical staff at Kyiv's Okhmatdyt hospital are now living in the above-ground levels of the hospital so they can provide care to vulnerable patients.
Dr Lesia Lysytsia is working and living in the hospital with her husband and two young children.
She said staff were becoming exhausted and daily life was hard in the hospital, as they tried to treat as many wounded people as they could.
"Unfortunately, most of the victims cannot receive treatment when they need it and they die before coming to hospital," she said.
"You don't have a choice to do a normal operation, you even don't have a possibility to give them as much blood as they need.
"You can do nothing — or you can try to do what you can."
By Jacqueline Howard
By Jacqueline Howard
UN watchdog loses data at Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants
Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, has been in Russian hands since last week when a blaze broke out in a building at the site after clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
The announcement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came a day after it said the same thing had happened at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl, near the defunct power plant that was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
Both sites are under Russian forces' control but are being operated by Ukrainian staff in conditions that the IAEA says endanger the safety of the facilities.
A statement from the IAEA said its chief, Rafael Grossi, was "concerned about the sudden interruption of such data flows to the IAEA's Vienna headquarters from the two sites, where large amounts of nuclear material are present in the form of spent or fresh nuclear fuel and other types of nuclear material".
By Jacqueline Howard
Russian claims of biological weapons in Ukraine may be laying groundwork for its own chemical attack, US warns
The Biden administration has warned Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine as the White House rejects Russian claims of illegal chemical weapons development in the country it has invaded.
This week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine — without evidence — of running chemical and biological weapons labs with US support.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Russia’s claim “preposterous” and said it could be part of an attempt by Russia to lay the groundwork for its own use of such weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine.
“Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them.”
The international community for years has assessed that Russia has used chemical weapons before in carrying out assassination attempts against Putin's enemies such as Alexey Navalny and former spy Sergei Skripal.
Russia also supports the Assad government in Syria, which has used chemical weapons against its people in a decade-long civil war.
Russia has a long history of spreading disinformation about US biological weapons research. In the 1980s, Russian intelligence spread the conspiracy theory that the US created HIV in a lab. More recently, Russian state media has spread theories about dangerous research at labs in Ukraine and Georgia.
Reporting by Associated Press
