Latest Ukraine updates: UNGA votes to demand Russian withdrawal

• Russia claims its forces have captured Kherson, in Ukraine’s south.
• Local authorities deny Kherson has fallen, but say Russian troops have encircled the city.
• Deaths mount as Russian attacks pound several cities, including northeastern Kharkiv and Mariupol, in the southeast.
• Russia’s negotiator says a second round of talks will take place on Thursday, while Ukraine is casting doubt on the plan.
• The UN says more than 870,000 people have fled Ukraine in search of safety in other countries.
• An enormous Russian military convoy is now about 25km north of the capital, Kyiv.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow is aiming to “erase” Ukraine.

The live blog is now closed; thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for March 2.

5 hours ago (21:35 GMT)

Kherson mayor says Russian troops in the streets

The mayor of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson, Igor Kolykhayev said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building, the Reuters news agency reported.

Ukraine’s government had earlier played down reports that Kherson had fallen into Russian hands.

Kolykhayev urged Russian soldiers not to shoot at civilians and publicly called on civilians to walk through the streets only in daylight and in ones and twos. “We do not have the Armed Forces in the city, only civilians and people who want to LIVE here!” he said in a statement.

5 hours ago (21:30 GMT)

US envoy thanks states that voted against Russia at UN

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations, expressed gratitude for the 141 countries that voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Let us continue to come together to support the Ukrainian people and demonstrate the true power and true purpose of the UN,” Thomas-Greenfield wrote in a tweet.

Let us continue to come together to support the Ukrainian people and demonstrate the true power and true purpose of the @UN. Thank you to all 141 UN Member States that made the choice to #StandWithUkraine. https://t.co/zx2yGREywC

— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) March 2, 2022

6 hours ago (21:08 GMT)

US postpones ballistic missile test to avoid escalation: Pentagon

The Pentagon announced that the US postponed an intercontinental ballistic missile test previously set for this week to avoid escalation with Russia amid the intensifying crisis.

“In an effort to demonstrate that we have no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood or misconstrued, the decretary of defense has directed that our Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test launch scheduled for this week to be postponed,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

“We did not take this decision lightly, but instead to demonstrate that we are a responsible nuclear power.”

6 hours ago (21:04 GMT)

Pentagon says Russian advance on Kyiv ‘remains stalled’

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the Russian military’s push towards Kyiv from the north “remains stalled”.

“They haven’t – from our best estimates – have not made any appreciable progress geographically speaking, in the last 24 to 36 hours,” Kirby told reporters.

He said the Pentagon believes the advance has slowed down because Russian forces are deliberately regrouping while also facing unanticipated logistic challenges and experiencing resistance from Ukrainians.

6 hours ago (20:41 GMT)

Maternity hospital, civil infrastructure targeted in Mariupol

The mayor of Ukraine’s key southeastern coastal city Mariupol has said Russian forces pummelled the port for hours and were attempting to block civilians from leaving.

Vadym Boichenko said at a news conference that Russian forces hit the city for 14 hours straight. Public transport in the city stopped, cutting off some districts. Some of the city has had no electricity since Friday afternoon and few shops remained open.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the regional military administration, said areas with “no military infrastructure” were being targeted, including a maternity hospital on the city’s Left Bank.

6 hours ago (20:33 GMT)

Georgia to apply ‘immediately’ for EU membership

Georgia will “immediately” apply for EU membership, the Black Sea nation’s ruling party has said, a day after the European Parliament backed war-torn Ukraine’s bid to apply for EU membership.

The ruling Georgian Dream party chairman, Irakli Kobakhidze, said the decision was made “based on the overall political context and the new reality.”

6 hours ago (20:29 GMT)

Sweden says Russian fighter jets violated airspace

Four Russian fighter jets briefly entered Swedish territory over the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Armed Forces said, sparking a swift condemnation from Sweden’s defence minister.

“The Russian violation of Swedish airspace is of course completely unacceptable,” Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told news agency TT. “It will lead to a firm diplomatic response from Sweden. Swedish sovereignty and territory must always be respected.”

7 hours ago (20:16 GMT)

Blinken says US open to diplomacy on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had made clear to Ukraine it will support Kyiv’s efforts at diplomacy with Russia but it was to hard see a diplomatic path without a military de-escalation.

In a comment addressed to the Russian people, Blinken told a news conference the United States knew many of them wanted nothing to do with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

7 hours ago (20:10 GMT)

Powerful explosion in Kyiv near rail station

Ukrainian officials have reported a powerful explosion in Kyiv, between the Southern Railway station and the Ibis hotel, an area near Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

The station was being used to evacuate thousands of women and children, Ukraine’s state-run railway company Ukrzaliznytsya said in a statement.

The station building suffered minor damage and the number of any casualties was not yet known, the statement said, adding trains were still operating.

Zelenskyy’s office told The Associated Press that it was a missile strike.

7 hours ago (19:55 GMT)

On the road in eastern Ukraine, everywhere is the front line

After Russia crossed the border on February 24, it was not so much a matter of if the port city in eastern Ukraine would be targeted in the advance, but when.

Mariupol’s eastern suburbs, 10km (six miles) from the front line with Russian-backed separatists, have already suffered years of violence, but during the last week, Russian troops have moved in from every direction and the area has been pounded incessantly with rockets and other projectiles.

Read more here.

7 hours ago (19:47 GMT)

One week in, Russia’s war on Ukraine has rocked the world

A week into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have already been a number of historic firsts.

As Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other major cities came under their first attack since World War II, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom unleashed the deepest and broadest sanctions on such a large economy as Russia’s for the first time.

European countries have made historic foreign and defence policy moves, while nuclear tensions have risen to their highest level since the Cold War.

Read more here.

7 hours ago (19:41 GMT)

Intense fighting ongoing in Mariupol

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Dnipro, said witnesses spoke of intense fighting in the last couple of hours in the port city of Mariupol, located on the Azov Sea.

Members of a convoy organised by the Greek consul to evacuate its nationals described fierce fighting taking place in the evening. At least one bridge has been destroyed.

Stratford said taking over Mariupol was a strategic military goal as it would enable Russia to link Crimea with Donbas.

8 hours ago (19:04 GMT)

Abramovich puts Chelsea up for sale

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich has said he will sell Chelsea Football Club, amid calls for the metals magnate to be hit by sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich said he told his aides to set up a charitable foundation which would receive all net proceeds from the sale.

“The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” Abramovich said in the statement.

8 hours ago (18:50 GMT)

EU’s eastern countries to leave Soviet-era banks

Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania will quit two Soviet-era international banks which count Russia as their largest shareholder following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, their finance ministries have said.

The move follows the announcement by the Czech Republic on Friday which said it would quit the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC) and the International Investment Bank (IIB) and called on other EU member states to do likewise.

9 hours ago (17:55 GMT)

Russia says talks with Ukraine to resume on Thursday

Russia expects Ukrainian officials to arrive in Belarus for the next round of talks on Thursday morning, when a ceasefire is set to be discussed, Russian news agencies has cited Moscow’s negotiator Vladimir Medinsky as saying.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak suggested the exact timing of talks had not yet been determined.

The first round of talks on the Belarusian border on Monday ended with no agreement except to keep talking.

10 hours ago (17:09 GMT)

Lavrov says Russia aiming to disarm Ukraine

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said “Ukraine has the capability and the technology to manufacture a nuclear weapon… The mission is clear: to disarm Ukraine and not deploy and manufacture any weapons that threaten Russia’s security.”

Lavrov added Russia had made its requests clear. “President Putin has repeatedly expressed our position, which our delegation conveyed in the talks with Ukraine in Belarus: Crimea is part of Russia; recognising the Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics within the borders of the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk; the eradication of Nazism as was the case with Nazi Germany,” he said.

10 hours ago (16:57 GMT)

UN approves resolution condemning Russia

The United Nations General Assembly has approved a non-binding resolution condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and demanding an immediate withdrawal.

The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, passed in a rare emergency session called by the UN Security Council.

Russia was joined by Belarus, which has served as a launch pad for Russian invasion forces, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria in voting against the resolution. Thirty-five members, including China, abstained.

“People in Ukraine desperately need peace and people around the world demand it,” UN head Antonio Guterres said in an interview after the vote.

10 hours ago (16:35 GMT)

US launches task force to pursue ‘corrupt Russian oligarchs’

US Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced the launch of a task force to pursue “corrupt Russian oligarchs” and violators of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

“The Justice Department will use all of its authorities to seize the assets of individuals and entities who violate these sanctions,” Garland said in a statement announcing the launch of ‘Task Force KleptoCapture.’

Read more here.

10 hours ago (16:31 GMT)

Ukrainian minister draws standing ovation at UN rights body

Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister has received a standing ovation at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva after calling for support for a draft resolution to set up a UN investigation into alleged crimes committed by Russia.

“We are under inhumane attack,” Emine Dzhaparova said.

More than 100 diplomats walked out during an address by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.

11 hours ago (15:40 GMT)

India urges its students to immediately leave Kharkiv

India’s foreign ministry has issued a new advisory urging Indian students to immediately leave Kharkiv.

“We have issued this advisory based on inputs that the Russian side has given,” foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi. He did not specify how many Indian students were currently in Kharkiv.

The advisory said students must reach nearby cities and settlements by any means of transport or on foot by 16:00 GMT, “under all circumstances”, for their own safety.

It was issued a day after an Indian student was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv.

Before Moscow launched its attack, Indian nationals made up about a quarter of the 76,000 foreign students in Ukraine, by far the largest number, according to Ukrainian government data.

11 hours ago (15:37 GMT)

EU sanctions 22 Belarus officers over Ukraine invasion

The European Union has imposed sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian military officers over what it said was Minsk’s role in aiding Russia’s invasion.

The six generals and 16 colonels were added to the EU blacklist because “Belarus is participating in a Russian unprovoked invasion against Ukraine by allowing military aggression from its territory,” the official sanction document said.

The blacklist bans travel into the bloc and imposes asset freezes.

12 hours ago (15:10 GMT)

Amid war, an independent Russian radio station goes silent

One of Russia’s best-known radio stations has gone silent.

On Tuesday night, listeners who tuned in to Echo of Moscow, one of the handful of independent news outlets remaining in the country, heard nothing but the hissing noise of static.

It was the latest development in an intense squeeze by Moscow on domestic reporting of its war in Ukraine.

Read more here.

12 hours ago (14:50 GMT)

WHO says first medical aid for Ukraine to arrive in Poland Thursday

A first shipment of medical aid for Ukraine will arrive in Poland on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Six tonnes of trauma care and emergency surgery supplies will be delivered to meet the needs of 1,000 patients, and other health supplies to meet the needs of 150,000 people, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing in Geneva.

He also stressed the need for a humanitarian corridor to be created to ensure the supplies reached the people most in need.

12 hours ago (14:34 GMT)

Do not call Ukraine invasion a ‘war’, Russia tells media, schools

The Kremlin has been working hard to promote its version of events as Russia’s bloody assault on Ukraine continues.

Read more on Moscow’s efforts to control the narrative here.

12 hours ago (14:28 GMT)

Reports of ‘heavy casualties’ in Mariupol: AJE correspondent

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine, says there are reports of “heavy casualties” in Mariupol, a key port city in the country’s south.

“The mayor … is alleging that Russian forces are blocking the exit of civilians from the city,” Stratford said.

“We know that there was a large tank column and a lot of Russian weapons moved into positions to the west of the city over the last couple of days,” he added.

“We also know that there has been a lot of shelling on the east of the city as well, since this war started.”

Stratford said the Russians appeared to be “desperately trying to create a land corridor” linking the northern part of the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, with the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

“And it certainly looks as if there has been so far today what can only be described as an escalation as Russia tries to push further forwards in multiple locations around the country,” he added.

13 hours ago (14:02 GMT)

EU bans RT, Sputnik over Ukraine disinformation

Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik will be banned in the EU with immediate effect for promoting what the bloc says is systematic disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The unprecedented move means that EU operators will be prohibited from broadcasting, facilitating or otherwise contributing to the dissemination of any RT and Sputnik content.

13 hours ago (13:40 GMT)

‘We burned our clothes to stay warm’: Somali details Ukraine exit

Mustafa Mohamed, a Somali national, has described to Al Jazeera his ordeal to find refuge in Poland following Russia’s invasion.

After 10 years in Ukraine, he left behind his life in Vinnytsia when a blast hit the city, in west-central Ukraine, and headed for the border.

Along the way, he found hardship and despair among the throngs of crowds attempting to reach safety elsewhere.

Click here to read his account.

13 hours ago (13:21 GMT)

Kyiv asks pope to talk to Putin about humanitarian corridors

Ukraine has asked the pope to talk to Putin about allowing humanitarian corridors to assist civilians affected by Moscow’s incursion, the country’s deputy prime minister has said.

“I hope the conversation will take place,” Iryna Vereshchuk said on live television in Ukraine.

14 hours ago (13:16 GMT)

UK PM says Putin guilty of ‘war crime’

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he believes Russia’s actions in Ukraine qualify as a “war crime”.

“What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin’s regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians … in my view already fully qualifies as a war crime,” Johnson told the United Kingdom’s Parliament.

The @HouseOfCommons shows its support for the Ukrainian ambassador at #PMQs.

The people of United Kingdom stand with the people of Ukraine