It has just been 15 hours in Kyiv and fierce battles are being fought between Ukrainian and Russian forces throughout Ukraine.
Here’s what you need to know:
Talks continue: According to an aide to the Ukrainian president, a second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine is to take place today.
The first round of talks on Monday lasted five hours and ended without a breakthrough.
The “real test”: US President Joe Biden is using his annual address on the state of the Union to demonstrate his determination that Western democracies stand firmly behind Ukraine, which Russia invaded last week.
“Throughout our history, we have learned this lesson: when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They are still moving, “Biden said.
Yet Biden has made it clear that US troops will not be deployed to fight alongside the Ukrainians, but instead the West will use sanctions and economic measures to continue, as he put it, to continue “causing pain.” Russia and to support the people of Ukraine. “
Biden also reaffirmed that the United States will firmly defend its NATO allies, including those in Eastern Europe, who are concerned that they, like Ukraine, may one day be the target of Russian aggression.
The struggle for key cities: The Russian army seems to be constantly advancing towards key southern cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces now fully hold Kherson, although Ukrainian authorities have denied this, saying “some parts are under our control.”
Fighting continues in nearby Mariupol, where heavy shelling has injured dozens, the mayor said. Russian troops and Russian-backed separatists have surrounded the city on three sides. The Kremlin hopes to take Mariupol to complete a land corridor linking Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine, to southern Russia.
Kharkiv hit: Russian artillery and missile strikes also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city. Videos posted on social media and confirmed by CNN show significant destruction in the northeastern Ukrainian city. A strike struck a residential complex near a hospital on Tuesday, while the Kharkiv Regional Police Department and Kharkiv National University were hit on Wednesday morning.
Ukrainian authorities say the “massive” shelling continued on Wednesday.
Goals in Kyiv: On Tuesday, Russian forces fired rockets near a TV tower in the Ukrainian capital, hours after warning of “high-precision” strikes on other facilities linked to Ukraine’s security services. The missile attack destroyed the broadcasting hardware, raising fears that Russia was trying to destroy the city’s communications infrastructure.
The UN said at least 136 people, including 13 children, had been killed in Ukraine since Thursday (February 24th), although those figures are likely to underestimate the actual number.
Zelensky said nearly 6,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in six days. The Kremlin has not publicly shared the death toll.