As Day 7 of the Russia-Ukraine conflict dawned, Russia continued its attacks on crowded Ukrainian cities and a lengthy convoy of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced slowly toward the capital of Kyiv.
Here’s a look at key things to know about the conflict:
Possible talks
A Kremlin spokesman said a Russian delegation will be ready Wednesday evening to resume talks with Ukrainian officials about the war in Ukraine.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “in the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators.”
There was no immediate word from Ukrainian authorities about their plans.
What’s happening on the ground
A 64km convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced slowly on Kyiv, a city of nearly 3 million people. The West feared it was part of a bid by Putin to topple the government and install a Kremlin-friendly regime. The Russians also pressed their assault on other towns and cities, including the strategic ports of Odesa and Mariupol in the south.
A senior US defence official said Russia’s military progress has slowed, plagued by logistical and supply problems.
A Ukraine Defence Ministry statement posted early Wednesday on Facebook said Belarusian troops have been brought into combat readiness and are concentrated close to Ukraine’s northern border. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has no plans to join the fight.
On Tuesday, there were attacks on the central square in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and a deadly bombing of a TV tower in the capital. Ukrainian authorities said five people were killed in the attack on the TV tower. A TV control room and power substation were hit, and at least some Ukrainian channels briefly stopped broadcasting, officials said.
Russia previously told people living near transmission facilities used by Ukraine’s intelligence agency to leave their homes.
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed Wednesday that Russian aviation disabled the main TV tower in an airstrike, but said the attack did not hit any residential buildings. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov did not address the deaths from Tuesday’s strike or damage to the adjacent Babi Yar memorial to Kyiv’s Holocaust victims. He said the attack was aimed at disabling Ukraine’s ability to stage “information attacks.”
What Biden said
Biden used his first State of the Union address to highlight the resolve of a Western alliance that has worked to rearm the Ukrainian military and adopt tough sanctions - including closing US airspace to all Russian flights.
Biden devoted the first 12 minutes of his address to Ukraine, with lawmakers of both parties repeatedly rising to their feet and applauding as he praised the bravery of Ukraine’s people and condemned the assault.
More sanctions
Russia found itself hit by sanctions that have thrown its economy into turmoil and left the country with few friends. Leading Russian bank Sberbank announced Wednesday that it is pulling out of European markets amid tightening Western sanctions. The bank said its subsidiaries in Europe were facing an “abnormal outflow of funds and a threat to the safety of employees and branches,” according to Russian news agencies. They did not provide details of the threats.
The US and EU have levied sanctions on Russia’s biggest banks and its elite, frozen the assets of the country’s Central Bank located outside the country, and excluded its financial institutions from the SWIFT bank messaging system.
The harsh sanctions and the resulting crash of the ruble have the Kremlin scrambling to keep the country’s economy running. Former Treasury Department officials and sanctions experts expect Russia to try to mitigate the impact of the financial penalties by relying on energy sales and leaning on the country’s reserves in gold and Chinese currency. Putin also is expected to move funds through smaller banks and accounts of elite families not covered by the sanctions, deal in cryptocurrency and rely on Russia’s relationship with China.
Humanitarian situation
Roughly 660,000 people have fled Ukraine, and countless others have taken shelter underground. The death toll was unclear, with neither Russia nor Ukraine releasing the number of troops lost. The UN human rights office said it has recorded 136 civilian deaths. The actual toll is likely much higher.
Human Rights Watch said it documented a cluster bomb attack outside a hospital in Ukraine’s east in recent days. Residents also reported the use of the weapons in Kharkiv and Kiyanka village. The Kremlin denied using cluster bombs.
The European Union is stepping up aid for Ukraine and is moving toward granting temporary protection to those fleeing Russia’s attacks. The EU Commission announced Wednesday it will give temporary residence permits to the refugees and allow them rights to education and work in the 27-nation bloc. The move still has to be approved by the member states, but they already expressed broad support over the weekend.
Developments at the UN
The UN General Assembly will vote Wednesday on a resolution demanding that Russia immediately stop using force against Ukraine and withdraw its military from the country, and condemning Moscow’s decision “to increase the readiness of its nuclear forces.”
The 193-nation General Assembly met Tuesday for a second day of speeches about the war, with more than 110 member states signed up to speak. Unlike the UN Security Council, the General Assembly doesn’t allow vetoes. And unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions aren’t legally binding, though they have clout in reflecting international opinion.
