For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:
11:33 p.m.: Agence France-Presse has a graphic explaining the SWIFT international payments network:
11 p.m.: In Virginia, a show of support.
10:29 p.m.: The United Nations Security Council is due to vote Sunday to call for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which would be held on Monday, diplomats said. Reuters has the story.
10:09 p.m.: Estimates put Putin's wealth at over $100 billion, The New York Times says.
9:40 a.m.: Breaking news from The Associated Press:
9:05 p.m.: Protests continue around the world.
8:55 p.m.: The crisis leaks into football:
8:43 p.m.: YouTube is taking steps against Russian channels. Reuters has the story.
8:34 p.m.: VOA's Cindy Saine says Ukraine will get more aid from the United States.
8:18 p.m.: Agence France-Presse offers a look at Chernobyl's giant arch.
8:14 p.m.: Ukrainians flee to neighboring countries.
8:11 p.m.: Worries mount about Chernobyl. ABC News has the story.
5:30 p.m.: The United States and Europe are slapping more official sanctions on Russian banks and tech companies.
But bars and liquor stores across America and Canada have found another way to punish Russia for invading Ukraine: They’re pulling Russian vodka off their shelves and promoting Ukrainian brands instead, The Associated Press said.
“I woke up yesterday morning, and I saw that Russia had invaded Ukraine. You wonder what you can do,’’ said Bob Quay, owner of Bob’s Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The U.S. obviously is putting on sanctions. I thought I would put on sanctions as well.’’
5:15 p.m.: Where is Zelenskyy?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been posting video and other messages of himself and other national leaders in Kyiv since the invasion began on Thursday but his exact whereabouts were not publicly known, the AP says.
Do not believe the fakes, he says, above this video.
Zelenskyy was urged early Saturday to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official. The official quoted the president as saying “the fight is here” and that he needed anti-tank ammunition but “not a ride.”
Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russian attempts to forge into Kyiv have been repelled and Moscow’s plan to quickly seize the capital and install a puppet government had been thwarted.
“The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing,” Zelenskyy said, accusing Russia in a video message of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets. “We will win.”
5 p.m.: European Union foreign ministers will come together for a virtual meeting on Sunday to adopt further measures in support of Ukraine and against "aggression by Russia," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said late on Saturday.
"I will propose a package of emergency assistance for the Ukrainian armed forces, to support them in their heroic fight," he said on Twitter, adding that the meeting would start on Sunday at 1700 GMT, or noon EST.
3:19 p.m.: VOA's Jeff Seldin reports the Pentagon is refuting claims by Russian state media outlet Sputnik that U.S. drones were present during recent Ukrainian naval operations near Zmiiny Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea.
12:36 p.m.: According to VOA's Myroslava Gongadze, the Ukrainian army has established a hotline for families of Russian soldiers involved in the invasion of Ukraine. An ad for the hotline claims that more than 3,000 Russian soldiers already perished since the start of the incursion and that over 200 have been taken prisoner. VOA is unable to independently confirm these numbers.
10:38 a.m.: Citing British intelligence assessments, VOA's Jeff Seldin reports that Ukraine has managed to slow Russia's advance.
10:31 a.m.: Citing Russian state-run media, VOA's Jeff Seldin reports the Kremlin has given its military orders to advance in all directions in Ukraine.
9:24 a.m.: According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, more than 150,000 Ukrainians have now crossed into neighboring countries.
8:27 a.m.: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes to Twitter to thank his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayip Erdogan, and the Turkish people for their support.
8:10 a.m.: Kyiv mayor and boxing legend Vitali Klitschko issues an impassioned plea to the international community on Twitter:
8:07 a.m.: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba vehemently denies "Russian propaganda" that claims Ukraine is preparing a "dirty bomb" attack on Russian territory.
8:07 a.m.: VOA's Myroslava Gongadze reports that Kyiv authorities have toughened curfew orders in the city, saying violators would be considered "enemy" saboteurs as Russian forces press to capture Ukraine's capital. Starting Feb. 26, Kyiv imposes updated curfew times from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.
7:42 p.m.: The Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, has stated that the Russian Armed Forces are starting to actively use saboteurs and paratroopers in a change of tactics dictated by their unsuccessful initial push to strike quickly with long columns of military vehicles and equipment.
"More than 55 hours of resistance. Our defenders have completely ruined the enemy’s plan. As of this morning, we are aware of more than 3,000 Russian occupiers killed in action. More than 200 of them have been taken prisoners, and their number continues to increase. They did not expect us to fight back and are surrendering."
7:25 a.m.: ABC News reports that officials are concerned about possible cyberattacks against the U.S.
7:07 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's getting support from the international community.
7:01 a.m.: VOA's Jamie Dettmer, in central Ukraine, reports that Kyiv has imposed a curfew from 5 p.m.-8a.m. and that air raid sirens are sounding in Lviv.
6:54 a.m.: Slovakia's Ambassador to the UK and former Defense Minister Robert Ondrejcsak announces establishment of NATO battle group in Slovakia.
6:31 a.m.: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba takes to Twitter in Russian, appealing to relatives of Russian soldiers in Ukraine to take them home.
"Mothers, wives, daughters of Russian soldiers! Take your men home. They came to a foreign land to kill innocent people, to destroy our homes. Your government is lying. The Ukrainian people are meeting them with weapons, not flowers. Demand from [your] authorities to stop this war of conquest, save your loved ones!"
6 a.m.: Al Jazeera has video of a missile hitting in Kyiv:
5:25 a.m.: Refugees from Ukraine are fleeing to neighboring countries:
5:24 a.m.: Breaking news from VOA's Jamie Dettmer, on the ground in central Ukraine: Lviv mayor says Russian paratroopers are near Brody and Zolochiv in Western Ukraine. Ukrainian security service contradicting Lviv mayor and saying people are mistaking Ukrainian military activity.
5:21 a.m.: "The third day of the war, started by the Russian invaders, under shelling and explosions, also lives and it appears the cry of newborn Ukrainians," Ukraine's health minister wrote in a Facebook post.
"Yesterday in Kherson, under the shelling, two boys were born in one of the maternity homes oblaštovanomu in the bomboshovi щіí, Two new lives that already have War in their genetic code. We and they will never forget, and never forgive!
"Life goes on, we give birth to children and no one can defeat us!"
5:01 a.m.: NBC News reports that two babies were born in a bomb shelter:
4:49 a.m.: Ukraine's Foreign Ministry tweets an appeal by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk calling on the Red Cross to assist with the transfer of bodies of dead Russian soldiers from Ukraine to Russia, asserting that there are "thousands" of them, a claim VOA is unable to independently confirm.
4:22 a.m.: VOA's Jamie Dettmer, in central Ukraine, reports on what the country faced Friday night: Russian forces attacked on many fronts during night: in Ukraine’s north, east and south. Ukrainian military say Russian paratroopers tried to seize Vasylkiv but were repulsed. Air raid sirens sounded across country as far west as Lviv on Polish border and central Ukraine’s Cherkasy and Vinnytsia, Kharkiv in east and southern Kherson.
4:09 a.m.: VOA's Jamie Dettmer is on the ground near Kyiv. Here's what he's seeing Saturday morning:
Talked with woman 5 kilometers from a Kyiv high-rise struck this morning near international airport: she, neighbors huddled in underground car park, sharing tea, coffee, staples, warm clothing; all very stressed, want to leave but think safer where they are.
Kyiv train station packed with people trying get free trains West, eye-witnesses tell me; intense rocket and missile impact northern part of capital; further strikes near where high-rise residential block hit earlier today near international airport
Authorities expect even more Ukrainians to take to already snarled roads to head to neighboring borders; journeys becoming harder, many on roads for days facing severe challenges getting gas. I saw many families sleeping in their cars by the side of roads last night as the weather turned colder.
Ukrainians filling social media forums offering temporary places to stay while they try to flee.
4 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to his people from Kyiv. CNN has the video translated into English.
3:32 a.m.: Ukraine's president tweets about joining the EU.
3:05 a.m.: Ukraine's president says France is sending weapons to his country.
2:33 a.m.: Kazakhstan denies Russia's request for troops, NBC News reports.
1:57 a.m.: “Kyiv requires special attention,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday. “We cannot lose the capital.”
1:33 a.m.: Syrian president praises Russian actions, Al Jazeera reports.
1 a.m.: Protests against Russia continue in Australia.
12:39 a.m.: The BBC reports that missiles are being launched at Ukraine from the Black Sea.
12:26 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that street fighting is under way.
12:05 a.m.: Russia blocked a move Friday in the U.N. Security Council to condemn and halt its invasion of Ukraine, but several nations said they would seek accountability from the full U.N. membership in the General Assembly. VOA's Margaret Besheer has the story.
12:01 a.m.: Agence France-Presse has a timeline of major events in the conflict:
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
