Russian forces closed in on the capital of Ukraine on Friday in an apparent encircling movement after a flurry of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.
European Union leaders were shown a video link-up from Zelenskyy's Bunker late Thursday, in which he said it might be the last time they saw him alive.
Zelenskyy released a video of himself and his senior aides outside the presidential office in Kyiv to assure Ukrainians that he and other top officials would stay in the capital.
The assault is expected for weeks by the West as President Putin tries to reestablish Moscow's influence in the world. It's not clear how much Russian forces have seized or killed.
Thousands of troops will be sent to NATO to help protect allies along the alliance's eastern edge. The White House said Biden spoke with Zelenskyy to convey his support for the Ukrainian people who were fighting to defend their country.
There are things to know about the security crisis in Eastern Europe.
Russia's military March on.
The Russian military said it had encircled the cities of Konotop and Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, but was taking steps to ensure the safety of civilians.
Russian forces have knocked out more than 200 Ukrainian military installations, including 17 command centers, 19 air defense missile systems, 39 radar units, 67 tanks and six warplanes. The Russian military said it seized the strategic airport outside of Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital.
A senior U.S. defense official said that Russia has launched more than 200 missiles into Ukraine and that some have hit residential areas, although it was unclear if they were deliberately targeted.
The official says that Russian forces are moving northwest from the peninsula toward Kherson and the Donbas region.
The Russian military said late Friday that it had taken over the city of Melitopol. The claim couldn't be verified.
There may be talks on the table.
A tentative agreement to discuss Zelenskyy's offer to designate Ukraine a non-aligned country appeared to break down on Friday.
The Kremlin initially said it would send a delegation to Belarus, then backpedaled and said it would meet in Warsaw. Zelenskyy should have agreed to talks earlier on, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Zelenskyy's spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov wrote on Facebook that the two sides are talking about a place and time.
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's foreign minister, offered to locate in Budapest. He wrote on Facebook that he put the proposal to both Russia and Ukraine and neither dismissed it.
The West had rejected Russia's demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO. Putin claimed that the West left him no other choice after refusing to justify the invasion.
Civilians are in the way.
On the second day of Russia's invasion, horrified civilians found themselves at risk as shells rained down on some residential buildings.
City residents stood in doorways of apartment buildings to watch armored personnel carriers.
A large boom was heard after 8 pm near the square in central Kyiv. The mayor said there were five explosions near the power plant. The cause of the explosions was not known.
At least 25 civilians have died and over 100 have been injured from shelling and airstrikes, according to a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation in Ukraine escalates, according to a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency.
FLEEING FOR PROTECTION.
Thousands of Ukrainians crossed into neighboring countries to the west on Friday to escape the war in their country.
Most of the people who crossed the borders were women, children and the elderly, because men of military age were not allowed to leave the country.
The woman from Kyiv said that men were pulled off trains in Ukraine before they got to the border.
Cars were backed up for several miles at some border crossings as authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova helped the Ukrainians. These countries relaxed their border procedures.
Pope Benedict XIV has a personal plea for peace.
The pope went to the Russian Embassy on Friday to express his concern about the war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis' gesture was seen as a sign of his anger at Russia and his willingness to make a personal appeal for the end of hostilities.
The pope traveled to and from the embassy in a small white car, with Vatican officials saying they knew of no previous papal initiative.
Nuclear War Nightmare has changed.
If anyone tries to stop Putin's takeover of Ukraine with military means, he has the weapons to do so.
Whether an empty threat or not, Putin's words re-animated the specter of nuclear war through accident or miscalculation.
Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states despite losing a lot of its capabilities after the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a speech by the Russian president.
Money for UKRAINE is questionable.
The U.N.'s humanitarian chief said Friday that the UN will seek $1 billion in donations for humanitarian relief in Ukraine over the next three months.
The EU has decided on an "unprecedented" amount of economic aid for Ukraine, according to the French President.
The SCREWS were turned on Russia.
The West has taken a military option off the table, but world leaders are preparing measures to hurt the Russian economy, including Putin.
The U.S., Britain, Canada, and European Union said Friday they will sanction Putin and his foreign minister. The EU agreed to freeze their assets.
The travel ban will be included in the U.S. sanctions, according to the White House press secretary.
Maria Zakharova said the sanctions showed total helplessness of the West. A nuclear power, a great country, who have you decided to play with? Zakharova said in televised remarks.
EU ministers said that there was still a chance of more sanctions, including the removal of Russia from the global financial transactions system.
Asian and Pacific countries have joined the West in imposing sanctions against Russia, including export controls aimed at starving its industries and military of high-tech products.
Russia's civil aviation authority banned U.K. flights to and over Russia on Friday in response to the British ban.
Ontario's finance minister said that the province is pulling all Russian liquor from government-owned stores. Russian liquor could be banned in Quebec.
Russia was suspended from the Council of Europe.
Russia was banned from the May finals of the song contest in Italy.
The world is turning back.
The Russian Grand Prix was dropped this season by Formula One and Russia has been stripped of hosting the final of the European soccer competition.
The European men's football final will be held at the 80,000-seat stadium in France on May 28.
The International Ski Federation announced on Friday that Russia will not host any more World Cup events this winter, and the European curling championships will be relocated to Perm, Russia.
All tennis events in Russia were canceled by the International Tennis Federation.
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Writers from around the world contributed to the report.
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