Saturday, March 5th

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.