Here's what you need to know about the Ukraine crisis right now.
Headlines
* Russian artillery bombarded residential districts of Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, killing possibly dozens of people, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow's invading forces met stiff resistance from Ukrainians on a fifth day of conflict. Talks on a ceasefire ended without a breakthrough. A member of the Ukrainian delegation said the discussions were difficult and the Russian side was biased.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin told France's Emmanuel Macron that a Ukraine settlement was only possible if Kyiv was neutral, "denazified" and "demilitarised" and Russian control over annexed Crimea was formally recognised, the Kremlin said.
* Satellite imagery taken on Monday showed Russian ground forces continued to move closer to Ukraine's capital with a military convoy that stretched over 17 miles (27 km), a private U.S. tech company said.
* Ukraine's Western allies increased weapons transfers in support. Finland agreed to ship 2,500 assault rifles and 1,500 anti-tank weapons.
* Russia's defence ministry said its nuclear missile forces and Northern and Pacific fleets had been placed on enhanced combat duty, Interfax news agency reported, in line with an order the previous day from President Putin.
* The head of a U.N. agency said on Monday over 500,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since the start of Russia's invasion.
* The European Union is preparing to grant Ukrainians who flee the war the right to stay and work in the 27-nation bloc for up to three years, EU officials said.
* Ukraine and its allies called on Monday for a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes committed by Russia during its military actions in Ukraine.
* The websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked on Monday, Reuters checks showed, with their regular sites replaced by an anti-war message and calls to stop President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Sanctions and economic fall-out
* The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Russia's central bank and other sources of wealth, dealing a crushing blow to the country's economy and further punishing Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
* Europe's financial market on Monday began severing Russia's ties to its critical plumbing for trading, clearing and settling securities as sanctions on Moscow started to bite.
* The Russian rouble fell to fresh record lows on Monday while world stocks slid and oil prices jumped, as the West ramped up sanctions against Russia over its Ukraine invasion, with steps including blocking banks from the SWIFT global payments system.
* Russia's central bank more than doubled its key policy rate on Monday and introduced some capital controls as the country faced deepening economic isolation, but its governor said sanctions had stopped it selling foreign currency to prop up the rouble.
* Airlines on Monday braced for a potentially lengthy dispute after the European Union banned Russian airlines from its airspace and Moscow responded in kind, barring carriers from 36 countries including all 27 members of the EU. Dozens of flights were cancelled or sent on costly detours as the crisis hit airline shares.
* Britain on Monday ordered its ports to block any vessels that are Russian-flagged or believed to be registered, owned or controlled by any person connected with Russia as it ratcheted up the pressure on Moscow.
* Energy giant BP, global bank HSBC and the world's biggest aircraft leasing firm AerCap joined a growing list of companies looking to exit Russia on Monday, as Western sanctions tightened the screws on Moscow.
* FIFA and UEFA have have suspended Russia's national teams and clubs from international football until further notice. The move makes it likely that Russia will be excluded from this year's World Cup and the women's Euro 2020 tournament.
* The International Olympic Committee's executive board has recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events, the IOC said on Monday.
Quotes
* "I took a train from Kyiv to Lviv to a point where the taxi put us. I walked the last 50 kilometres," a Ukrainian woman said on arrival at a border crossing with Poland in snowy freezing weather.
* "There are bombings, sirens, we have to go (downstairs). We also receive treatment here, medications we have, but we need more food...basic stuff," said a tearful Maryna, a mother at a Kyiv children's hospital where her nine-year-old son is suffering from blood cancer.
Coming up
* U.N. Security Council session on Ukraine's humanitarian situation at 2000 GMT.
Reuters
