Europe

Here is the latest news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

LVIV, Ukraine — After Western nations rejected his appeal to impose a no-fly zone over the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Sunday called on the entire nation to resist the Russian invasion. He cheered the courage of protesters who filled the streets of occupied cities and towns, saying that “every meter of our Ukrainian land won by protest and humiliation of the invaders is a step forward, a step toward victory.”

Russian forces appeared to be struggling in their primary objective of encircling and capturing Kyiv, the capital. There has been fierce fighting just north of the city, where the Ukrainian military says it is successfully defending its position. The Ukrainians say they are also halting the Russian advance from the east, with the Russians bogged down in clashes around an airport.

Ukrainian officials are warning about a systematic effort to gain control over parts of the country’s critical infrastructure, with Russian forces now threatening a key hydroelectric power station. Russia’s military has destroyed, attacked or captured several energy infrastructure facilities in recent days. Russia’s gains in the south were the most sweeping in the early days of the war, making inroads in strategic areas along the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. But Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian assault in a key coastal city overnight, slowing the Russians’ advance toward the key port city of Odessa.

Here are the latest developments:

  • The situation in the southern city of Mariupol is growing dire as residents describe the city becoming “unfit for human life.” “There’s no electricity, no heating, no telephone connection. It is absolute horror,” said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor. “People drink from puddles in the streets.”

  • Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian attack at Mykolaiv, slowing their advance toward the key port city of Odessa. The chief of regional military administration, Vitaly Kim, said that an undetermined number of civilians had been killed in the clashes and that the Russians withdrew in chaos, leaving behind “a lot of trophies.”

  • Hundreds of thousands of homes across eastern and southern Ukraine had their gas turned off on Sunday as the areas face heavy fighting, according to Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator. The company said it shut down 16 gas distribution stations in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv, as well as the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Natural gas is the primary way many homes are heated, and is used for cooking.

  • Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of Israel traveled to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Bennett’s office offered little information about the meeting in a statement, saying it lasted about three hours and took place “in coordination and with the blessing of the U.S. administration.” The Israeli leader later met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany.

  • Mr. Putin said that any third-party countries that tried to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered enemy combatants. “The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they risk the future of Ukrainian statehood,” Mr. Putin said. Western nations have resisted, fearing it could drag them into a broader war.

  • NATO members are rushing to resupply the Ukrainians with Javelin and Stinger missiles and other weapons. American shipments represent the largest single authorized transfer of arms from U.S. military warehouses to another country, according to a Pentagon official.

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