Ukraine formally petitioned for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Russia to halt its invasion.  They cited the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as grounds for the condemnation. The Russian delegation to the ICJ was notably absent from the hearing.

Russian forces pledged to hold their fire and open humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Sumy at 10 am Moscow time. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested this plan after a phone call on Sunday with Russian President Putin. However, Ukraine rejected these corridors as they claimed that the offer to flee to Russia was “unacceptable.” 

Furthermore, fierce battles resulted in several failed evacuation attempts. The Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin, and the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, located in the south to the east of the country, suffered several airstrikes and shelling. 

Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, led to a massive apartment building fire on Thursday. A week ago, Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling. pic.twitter.com/h5nTY9xLlQ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 3, 2022

In the private sector, additional western companies join their peers in cutting ties with Russia. This list now includes Netflix, Nike, Zara, Hermes, Ikea, KPMG, PWC, and American Express – many of whom have closed shops, offices, and ended operations in the region. Furthermore, several US and European allies are contemplating banning the importation of oil from Russia.

President Zelensky and European Council President Charles Michel have been in close communication over Ukraine’s petition to join the EU. Many officials including President Michel, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola have expressed their support and anticipation for Ukraine to join the EU.

Held regular talks with @eucopresident. Discussed the threat to nuclear facilities, shelling of civilian and critical infrastructure. We have to stop this. Raised the issue of 🇺🇦’s membership in the #EU. The people of Ukraine deserve this. #StopRussia

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 7, 2022

Advisers close to jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for Russian citizens to participate in anti-war protests. Thousands of Russian showed up to staged anti-war demonstrations across the country and Russian authorities immediately detained them.

Ukrainian President Zelensky asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to mediate the conflict between Ukraine and Russia due to Israel’s close connections with both countries. Prime Minister Bennet flew to Russia to meet with Putin in secret. 

 The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced that at least 364 civilians have died since the start of Russia’s invasion. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that the US and many European countries are considering a ban on Russian oil. Although President Biden’s administration is worried about the ban’s possible effects on domestic gas prices, both Democrats and Republicans are pushing for the ban.

The Red Cross posted a thread of tweets announcing that evacuation attempts in Mariupol, a major Ukrainian city, have failed.

People are living in terror in Mariupol, desperate for safety.

Today’s attempt to start evacuating an estimated 200,000 people has failed.

The failed attempts underscore the absence of a detailed and functioning agreement between parties to the conflict. #Ukraine

Thread 👇

— ICRC (@ICRC) March 6, 2022

The Russian government agreed to a cease-fire to allow civilians to safely leave Mariupol and Volnovakha, two cities in Eastern Ukraine under heavy attack. Less than three hours later, Ukrainian officials reported the continuation of Russian shelling in both cities.

People around the world are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine, but they have no intention of staying in these properties. After booking, netizens have been informing their hosts that it is a show of solidarity. This provides direct financial aid to Ukrainian citizens. While Airbnb hosts are typically paid after the guest checks in, Airbnb has waived these fee restrictions in Ukraine to allow people all over the world to provide direct aid to Ukrainians.

The most recent company to join in the boycott of Russia is PayPal. PayPal has suspended all its services in Russia to show its solidarity with Ukraine. They have also announced that they will be working to provide humanitarian relief to Ukraine.

In a recent speech, President Zelensky chastised NATO for its reluctance to establish a no-fly zone above the beleaguered country. NATO has argued that a no-fly zone would incite a confrontation with Russia, and Putin has declared that any intervention in the invasion would be seen as participation in armed conflict. Putin has also declared that the economic sanctions in place are “akin to an act of war”. Ukranian President Zelensky disagreed with these declarations.

“All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity,” Zelensky proclaimed. 

The Polish foreign minister announced that Poland will not recognize any territory annexed by Russia. He also described Russia’s actions as “war crimes.”

Ukraine delegation official David Arakhamia announced via Facebook that the third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukriane would be held on Monday.

President Zelensky informed US senators that Russian forces were headed toward a third nuclear facility located about 220 miles from Kyiv.

Two days ago, the BBC announced that Russians were flocking their website to keep up with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Today, the Russian government blocked access to BBC in the country as well as other news sites. This isn’t out of character for the government that very recently forced two prominent independent Russian TV and radio stations off the air.

The Russian army seized control of Europe’s, and Ukraine’s, largest nuclear power plant. Fighting near one of the plant’s reactors caused a small fire to break out; however it was quickly extinguished. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that no radioactive material escaped from the plant. For now, there is nothing to worry about. 

Russia and Ukraine agreed to establish humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian refugees to escape during the peace talks in Belarus. The Ukrainian government asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to help organize these corridors.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky urged Ukrainian and global citizens alike to protest and take to the streets in order to fight against the invasion and support Ukraine. Citizens started protesting in Bratislava, Frankfurt, Lyon, Prague, Tbilisi, Vienna and Vilnius.

In Germany, hundreds of volunteers handed food and supplies to the thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their nation through the Berlin central railway station. This mass emigration coincided with the decision of European Union member states to grant Ukrainian citizens temporary one-year visas, allowing them to skip the long immigration process.

Finally, the conflict between Russia and several other large corporations continued as Russia blocked access to Facebook and severely limited access to Twitter, while also shutting down major news sites such as the BBC’s Russian Service. Additionally, the Duma unanimously approved a bill that would allow up to 15 years in prison for anyone who they believed to spread “fake news” about the occupation. As a response, more companies started to boycott Russia; Google stopped online advertising in the nation, while AirBnB, Microsoft, Panasonic and Hermès all suspended sales and operations.

Russian forces have officially seized control of Kherson, a strategic port city in Ukraine. They aim to cut off Ukraine’s sea access. This happened while the advance on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was stalled. Local officials have finally admitted to Russia’s control of Kherson.

One day before the start of the Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Beijing 2022 Paralympics. Although the IPC’s President, Andrew Parsons, did not want politics to influence the games, many athletes and countries were threatening to back out of the games. The threats were so significant that the games did not seem likely to occur unless the IPC banned Russian and Belarussian athletes.

President Biden asked Congress for $10 billion in humanitarian, economic, and security assistance for Ukraine. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Shalanda D. Young sent the request via letter where she explained how the budget would be split and allocated.

The budget break down as follows:

• Department of Defense (DOD) — $4.8 million
• Department of State (State) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – $5.0 billion
• Department of Commerce – $21 million
• Department of Energy – $30 million
• Department of Justice – $59 million
• Department of Treasury – $91 million
• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – $18.25 billion
• Department of State (State) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – $4.25 billion

Russia and Ukraine commenced their second round of peace talks. Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia and one of President Zelensky’s advisors, Mykhailo Podolyak, admitted that their goal for the peace talks was to reach an agreement with Russia on establishing “humanitarian corridors”.

In response to economic sanctions, Russia’s space agency decided to stop selling rocket engines to the US. However, their ban might not have the effect they anticipated.

While the dollar and the euro have both hit all-time highs, the Russian ruble is reaching new lows. Moody’s Investors Service, a corporation that provides international financial research on bonds to investors, labeled Russia’s credit as non-investment grade. They also down-graded the ruble to “not prime” in short-term ratings. Due to grave economic turmoil, Thursday is the fourth day that Moscow’s stock exchange has remained closed.

The EU Commission has announced it is implementing a Temporary Protection Directive to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees. This will grant Ukrainian refugees temporary protection in any of the EU member states. Ukrainian refugees will be able to work, find housing, and have access to education in any of the EU member states.

Children in Russia made signs protesting the war and placed them in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow where their parents placed flowers. Russian police arrested the children and the parents and threatened to take away the mothers’ parental rights.

Putin is at war with children. In Ukraine, where his missiles hit kindergartens and orphanages, and also in Russia. 7 y.o. David and Sofia, 9 y.o. Matvey, 11 y.o. Gosha and Liza spent this night behind bars in Moscow for their ‘NO TO WAR’ posters. This is how scared the man is. pic.twitter.com/eSenU1D5Ut

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 2, 2022

Russia’s military is nearing Ukraine’s capital Kyiv by the day, and fighting continues to intensify as both sides’ war materials are depleting. The Russian military is also attacking other major cities, including in the nation’s south. At this point, Russian forces claim full control of Kherson and are attacking near Maripul. However, Ukraine strongly contests Russian control of Kherson. Another key area is Kharkiv, because it has the second-highest population in Ukraine. Kharkiv is experiencing severe demolition by the day and many people have watched viral videos of the alleged shelling.

The Russian government is shutting down media outlets that express critical views of the invasion. The government claimed that the media outlets were spreading “deliberately false information” to the Russian citizens.

The UN General Assembly condemned Russia for invading Ukraine and demanded they end the war immediately. Many countries gave moving speeches about standing with Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to host a second round of peace talks in Belarus on Thursday. When the two countries met last, they were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, and this time doesn’t seem too promising either.

Shortly after the announcement of the second round of peace talks, Russia made its first announcement of major casualties. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that 498 Russian troops were killed and 1,597 troops were injured.  These figures have been disputed by Ukrainian authorities.

In an address to his nation, President Zelensky announced that Russia had fired cruise missiles at government offices in Kharkiv’s Freedom Square. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city with a population of over 1.5 million people including thousands of university students from all over the world. In the same address, President Zelensky called Russia a “terrorist state” and urged the international community to hold Russia responsible for war crimes.

Google announced on Twitter that YouTube will be blocking any and all channels connected to the Russian government effective immediately due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) March 1, 2022

This is incredibly important because the Russian government has been spreading misinformation about Ukraine through various social media platforms including but not limited to YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.  Russia has spread propaganda and disinformation painting Ukraine as an aggressor and they have even linked Ukraine to Nazism.

The International Skating Union released an official statement in which they banned Russian and Belarusan athletes from participating in any of its events, following the Internation Olympic Committee’s lead.

Russian airstrikes have hit Kyiv’s main TV and radio tower, as well as a Holocaust memorial. The tower’s broadcaster room was damaged in the process. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that TV channels would not be working for some time.

Russian troops fired on the TV tower, near the Memorial complex #BabynYar.

Russian criminals do not stop at anything in their barbarism. Russia = barbarian. pic.twitter.com/MMJ6wSfpsS

— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 1, 2022

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to send a delegation of the Ukrainian government to conduct peace talks with Russian officials in Belarus. Although Belarus is a Russian ally, Ukraine still agreed to meet with Russia near the Pripyat River. The President did not specify when the talks would take place.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, over 368,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Hungary. This number does not include adult men under the age of 60 because Ukraine has banned them from leaving the country.

The number of refugees from Ukraine who have crossed to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and other countries is escalating and is now 368,000.

The governments and people of those countries are welcoming refugees. It is now urgent to share this responsibility in concrete ways.

— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) February 27, 2022

President Putin ordered his minister of defense and the chief of the General Staff to place Russian Army Deterrent Forces on combat alert. Experts conclude this combat-readiness also applies to Russia’s salvo of nuclear weapons. US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, condemned this move in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.

For the first time in history, the EU agreed to buy and deliver weapons to a country under attack. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced that the EU would ban Russian aircraft or Russian-affiliated aircraft from flying above its member states, as well as banning Russian media outlets.

Additionally, reporters announced that Russian troops had blown up a natural gas pipeline in Kharkiv, a major oil city in Ukraine. Despite this event, gas still continues to flow from Russia through Ukraine to the rest of Europe, as agreed upon by a previous contract. On Monday, European energy ministers plan to discuss soaring gas and fuel prices as a result of concerns due to fighting. Economic advantages due to oil remain Russia’s biggest leverage over Europe, and it remains to be seen whether Russia will cut off the Ukrainian passage.

Russian military forces met fierce resistance during their advance on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, while several outside organizations continued to place financial, social and business sanctions and bans on the nation.

In Ukraine, explosions seen around Kiev late at night on Saturday. A civilian died in the city of Kharkiv as a residential building was attacked by Russian forces. Additionally, two explosions in Vasylkiv, a city about 18 miles from Kiev, resulted in heavy fires and shelling from ballistic missiles. However, Russia suffered losses in armor and aircraft after Ukrainian citizens and the airspace held their ground, performing better than United States intelligence anticipated.

As a result of the continued Russian aggression, several social media sites including Facebook and Youtube retaliated by blocking state media Russian ads on all of their platforms. Additionally, Twitter blocked all advertising in Ukraine and Russia. Russia’s communications regulator accused Meta of censoring Russian defense channels. In response, Meta’s Vice President of Global Affairs stated that Russia wished to remove the fact-checking and disclaimers on their posts, which the social media company refused to do. An anonymous hacker group also claimed to disable Chechnya’s official government site, but it currently remains accessible.

The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, vetoed the resolution from the UN’s security council calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. 

The resolution called for Moscow to remove all of their troops from Ukraine immediately and provide additional humanitarian aid to help the nation. Additionally, it condemned Russia’s actions thus far and proceeded to call for de-escalation of conflict. Several members from the 15 nations on the Security Council called for peace and continued to ask Russia to withdraw.

The vote was 11-1 with China, India, and the UAE choosing to abstain, and Russia being the only dissenting nation. The other nations on the council expected the veto to occur, but the purpose of it was to highlight the international isolation Russia was facing.

Any of the five first permanent members of the UN including the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdoms have the power to veto a resolution in the Security Council. As a result of this action, the UN plans to hold a General Assembly meeting in the coming days with all 195 member nations of the organization. Resolutions in the General Assembly cannot be vetoed, and instead, are subject to a vote; however, unlike Security Council resolutions, they are not legally binding and instead, symbolic.

Additionally, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that Amin Awad, Director for the Middle East and North Africa Bureau, UNHCR, would be the official UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine. He will be in charge of coordinating humanitarian relief efforts for citizens involved in both sides of the conflict.

During the meeting, ambassadors from the United States and Brazil strongly condemned Russia’s invasion, while Nebenzya defended the actions of his nation. The UAE and Indian ambassadors continued to delineate their reasons for abstaining. Finally, the Ukrainian ambassador, Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya, asked for a moment of silence for the people lost during the invasion and was met with applause.

“Time after time, when the international community has rallied together in solidarity, those values have prevailed. They will prevail, independently of what happened today,” concluded the Secretary-General. “We must do everything in our power so that they prevail in Ukraine but they prevail for all humanity.”

Early Thursday morning, President Vladimir Putin gave a state address that horrified viewers across the world. He claimed that Russia was left with no choice but to launch an operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Russian troops quickly invaded the neighboring country.

“And to bring to court those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation,” Putin adds.

Ukrainian forces had a mere few minutes to process the news before the strikes began.

Russia invaded Ukraine with a series of missile strikes near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and long-range artillery near the border. The Russian army attacked mainly military bases and international airports but surrounding civilian towns were caught in the crossfire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Putin’s speech with his own minute-long speech. He claimed to have spoken with US President Joe Biden.

Ukraine declared to have shot down 5 Russian aircraft, but Russia said they hadn’t lost any aircraft.

Many citizens fled Kyiv Thursday morning while others hid in subway stations.

Hours after the start of the invasion, Russian forces overtook Chernobyl.