Russia's war in Ukraine - 2nd March 2022

Russia's launched a military invasion into neighbouring Ukraine. The military action has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin after weeks of manoeuvres circling Ukraine's borders. Fighting has already claimed hundreds of civilian lives, while hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee west.

But with martial law declared, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are obliged to stand in defence of their land. Volunteer fighter Pavlo Starovoit is among them.

Pavlo Starovoit: "The matter of fact, and, I stuck in this city, but I'm from Kyiv. And I want to do, to be helpful. And I want to do something to help my country to defend itself against Russian aggression."

So far, the EU and NATO have ruled out entering the conflict but are funding Ukraine's arms purchases. The EU's funding arms in a war for the first time, promising Ukraine 500 million dollars.

Among the severe restrictions imposed on Russia and its oligarchs is the freezing of funds in international accounts. The SWIFT financial network's also suspended Russian banks, restricting Russia's capacity to move funds internationally.

Multinationals are pulling out or closing their Russian businesses, causing the ruble to crash. In addition, broadcasts by some Russian media have been blocked.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Russian flights were barred from EU airspace.

Ursula von der Leyen: "We are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians. We're proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered, and Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off, or overfly the territory of the European Union."

Cities around the world have witnessed protests rejecting this unprovoked war on a democracy. Even people in major Russian cities have taken to the streets, despite the dangers. Melisa's an economist who's joined the protests in St Petersburg.

Melisa: "To start the war was a very bad decision for our people because many of them have relatives, friends, husbands, and they will die for nothing."

Putin's response has been to put his country's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert. This move's been condemned by the United States. Standing firm, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says his country won't be intimidated into surrender.

Dmytro Kuleba: "We will not surrender. We will not capitulate. We will not give up a single inch of our territory - this is not the goal of our fight."

While the conflict rages, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refuses to reject dialogue. He's prepared to sit down to discuss peace, if only to ensure no stone is left unturned.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: "I will say frankly, as always - I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try. So that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, did not try to stop the war when there was a small chance."