Russia attacks Ukraine: UN Security Council will meet Friday at Russia’s request

The Russian invasion into Ukraine entered its 15th day Thursday.

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On Wednesday, Russian airstrikes struck three Ukrainian hospitals, including a Mariupol maternity hospital, according to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, a government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine cleared the U.S. House of Representatives, which also passed legislation banning Russian oil imports to the United States. The bills now go to the Senate.

Here are the latest updates:

Mike Pence, wife tour Ukraine-Poland border

Update 11:57 p.m. EST March 10: Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, toured the Poland-Ukraine border on Thursday, CBS News reported.

Refugees fleeing Ukraine walked past the Pences, who spent about 20 minutes on Ukrainian soil near the Korczowa border crossing in southeastern Poland.

Karen and I just wanted to be here to see firsthand what was happening and to urge all of our fellow Americans to do your part, to pray earnestly for peace,” Pence told CBS News.

Twitter adding labels to Belarusian state media accounts

Update 11:28 p.m. EST March 10: Twitter said it would add labels to Belarus’ state media accounts, The New York Times reported. The move was made to help fight Russia-affiliated propaganda and disinformation, the company said.

Twitter added labels to Russian state-affiliated news media last week.

“We’re committed to providing context and transparency around the content you see on Twitter,” the company said in a tweet. “Today we’re adding labels on state media accounts in Belarus to better surface credible information surrounding the war in Ukraine.”

Congress passes $13.6B aid package for Ukraine

Update 10:28 p.m. EST March 10: Congress on Thursday approved $13.6 billion in aid to help Ukraine and its allies resist the Russian invasion, The Associated Press reported. The Senate approved the overall $1.5 trillion overall legislation by a 68-31 bipartisan margin. The House had approved the measure on Wednesday night.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure.

According to a fact sheet from the House Appropriations Committee, the package earmarks $4 billion to help refugees who have fled or were displaced within Ukraine. It also increases the President’s authority for defense equipment transfers to Ukraine and other allied nations to $3 billion.

Report: Russia to lose ‘most favored nation’ trading status

Update 10:19 p.m. EST March 10: The U.S., European Union and G7 nations are preparing to revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

According to The New York Times, which cited an anonymous source, each country will implement the suspension based on its own national processes.

The move would require an act of Congress, CNN reported. President Biden is expected to announce the revocation on Friday.

UN Security Council will meet Friday at Russia’s request

Update 10:06 p.m. EST March 10: The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss Russia’s claim that the U.S. is funding the development of biological weapons in Ukraine.

Olivia Dalton, the U.N. Mission spokesperson for the U.S., said the move was “exactly the kind of false flag effort we have warned Russia might initiate to justify a biological or chemical weapons attack.”

“Russia has a well-documented history of using chemical weapons and has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law,” Dalton told The Associated Press. “Russia also has a track record of falsely accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating.

“We’re not going to let Russia get away with gaslighting the world or using the UN Security Council as a venue for promoting their disinformation.”

Agency: Ukraine has lost all communications with Chernobyl

Update 9:15 p.m. EST March 10: Ukraine lost all communications with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

The statement comes a day after the Russian-controlled site lost external power supplies, CNN reported.

“The subsequent loss of communication meant that the regulator could no longer provide updated information about the site to the IAEA,” the statement said. “According to the information received before the loss of communication, both of the site’s power lines had been damaged, in effect disconnecting it from the grid.”

GOP senators ask Biden to send Polish planes to Ukraine

Update 8:45 p.m. EST March 10: Republican U.S. senators are urging the Biden administration to reverse course and allow the transfer of Poland’s MiG fighter jets to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, The Associated Press reported.

Forty GOP senators signed onto a letter from Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mitt Romney of Utah, asking President Joe Biden to answer the plea from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president told lawmakers over the weekend that in the absence of a no-fly zone, more planes would be needed to defend against Russia’s assault.

“Enough talk. People are dying,” Romney said at a news conference. “Send them the planes they need.”

Satellite photos show dispersal of Russian convoy outside Kyiv

Update 7:31 p.m. EST March 10: Satellite photos show that a massive Russian convoy that had been outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since last week appears to have dispersed, according to The Associated Press.

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed the 40-mile line of vehicles, tanks and artillery had been broken up and redeployed. Armored units were witnessed in towns near the Antonov Airport north of Kyiv, the AP reported. Some of the vehicles have moved into forests, Maxar reported.

The convoy had massed outside the city early last week, but its advance appeared to have stalled.

Facebook, Instagram allow calls for violence against Russian soldiers

Update 7:05 p.m. EST March 10: Meta, the parent company for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, adjusted its rules to allow people to call for harm and even death to Russian soldiers and leaders in certain instances, The New York Times reported.

Under the temporary change, which was first reported by Reuters, Facebook and Instagram will allow users in certain countries -- including Ukraine and Russia -- to call for violence against Russian aggressors in the context of the war in Ukraine. In the past, Meta has in many cases said it did not permit posts with direct threats that could lead to death.

Ukrainian authorities: 20,000 evacuated from Sumy region

Update 6:14 p.m. EST March 10: Regional authorities in eastern Ukraine said 20,000 people were evacuated from the Sumy region in the country’s northeastern region, CNN reported.

Dmytro Lunin, head of the Poltava region administration, said that “20,000 people left the Sumy region through a green corridor. Buses from Sumy and Trostianets are already arriving in Lubny, from where the evacuees will travel by train to the west of the country.”

CNN reported that it cannot independently verify the number of evacuees

Russia resumes seige of Mariupol

Update 6:03 p.m. EST March 10: Russia’s siege of Mariupol resumed at around 3 a.m. local time, The Guardian reported.

“The windows are shaking,” Angela Timchenko posted on Facebook.

Timchenko called the latest bombardment of the Ukrainian city, now in its ninth day, as a “heavy downpour.”

UK defense ministry: More Russian forces encircle key cities

Update 5:09 p.m. EST March 10: Due to “strong Ukrainian resistance,” Russian forces are increasing the number of deployed forces to encircle key cities, according to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence.

“This will reduce the number of forces available to continue their advance and will further slow Russian progress,” the ministry tweeted.

Disney latest company to stop business in Russia

Update 3:59 p.m. EST March 10: The Walt Disney Company has announced it is pausing any business dealing in Russia, WFTV reported.

Earlier, the company had announced it would not release theatrical films there.

Some business pauses will happen immediately, others “will take time given contractual complexities,” according to WFTV.

While business will stop, Disney said it will still support employees in Russia.

“Even as we pause these businesses, we remain committed to our dedicated colleagues in Russia, who will remain employed. And we continue to work with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other much-needed assistance to refugees,” the company said.

Disney has content and product licensing, Disney Cruise Line activities, National Geographic magazine and tours, local content production and various channels in Russia, Reuters reported.

Ukraine president vows to rebuild

Update 3:54 p.m. EST March 10: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is will start a program that will be responsible for rebuilding all the cities destroyed by the Russian invasion.

“After the war, after our victory, we will rebuild everything that was destroyed. Very quickly and with a very high quality,” Zelenskyy said, according to CNN. “A special state program for reconstruction will be created for each affected city. I have already instructed the government to start the elaboration.”

“Poltava Way, Belgorod Highway, Myronosytska Street, Regional Children’s Hospital, Kharkiv Oncology Center, Karazin University, Labor Palace, Korolenko Library ... We will rebuild everything! I promise you personally,” Zelenskyy said.

US Ambassador to UN says Russian actions are ‘war crimes’

Update 3:14 p.m. EST March 10: The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that what Russia is doing in Ukraine are “war crimes.”

“They constitute war crimes; they are attacks on civilians that cannot be justified by any – in any way whatsoever,” Thomas-Greenfield said in an interview with BBC Newshour.

She is the latest diplomat bringing up war crimes in relation to Russia.

She said, “we’re being asked every day, and we’re working with others in the international community to document the crimes that Russia is committing against the Ukrainian people.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s comments came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is investigating “credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians, which would constitute a war crime,” but Blinken clarified that the U.S. had not declared that the country has committed them.

Vice President Kamala Harris had been asked during a press conference with the president of Poland if Russia should be investigated. She responded, “Absolutely there should be an investigation and we should all be watching and I have no question the eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done in terms of the aggression and these atrocities. No doubt,” The New York Times reported.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said last week that he’s investigating if high-ranking Russians be charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity genocide, The Associated Press reported.

Ukraine trying to restore power to Chernobyl

Update 2:46 p.m. EST March 10: While the world watches, concerned over the status of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, specifically the Chernobyl nuclear plant, Ukraine’s energy minister said the country is doing “everything possible” to restore power to the plant “as soon as possible,” CNN reported.

Herman Halushenko made the comments in a statement posted to the Ukrainian energy ministry website.

He said that power is needed to make sure the cooling mechanisms function at a storage facility for used nuclear fuel.

Powerlines, Halushenko said, were “destroyed as a result of the occupant’s shelling,” earlier this week.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said that the plant has lost power, but that there was “no critical impact.” on the safety of the site, CNN reported.

Russian armored military train seen; former Ukrainian president sends message to Ukrainians

Update 2:37 p.m. EST March 10: CNN reported that a Russian armored military train has been seen on a rail line in the Kherson region, about 100 miles away from where an armored military train was seen going toward Melitopol.

Meanwhile, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who was in office from 1994 to 2005, wrote to the people of his country, telling them that he is proud to be Ukrainian, CNN reported. He posted the message to Facebook.

My dear Ukrainians!

We are of different ages and gender, we are of different blood and faith, but all of us today have one name -- Ukrainians.

And I am proud to share this name with you.

In my entire life, I have never felt so much pride, pain and anger as I have during these days.

Although sometimes it seems that both our land and our hearts have been burning in fire not for 15 days but for eternity.

Russians have been bombing Kharkiv and Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Mykolayiv for eternity.

Ukrainian children and women in labor have been killed on Putin's orders for eternity.

The brutal siege of Mariupol has been going on for an eternity.

For eternity, the residents of Irpen, Bucha, and Vorzel have been hiding in basements from Russian Nazi shelling.

For all eternity, the whole world has seen the superhuman courage of our soldiers, the dedication of our volunteers, the resilience and unity of civilians.

Invincibility and willingness to sacrifice always live in our hearts. It's just like a volcanic eruption: it's hard to wake up, but it's impossible to contain. No one ever can stop our people when they rise for freedom of their homeland.

Here's to our future. For our freedom.

I'm staying at home, in Ukraine, because all of us are on our native land, there's no other. And to defend it we will all be together until the victory itself. No division on party columns, no personal interests and old faces. United around the Flag, Army, President.

Ukraine is not Russia. And it will never become Russia. Can't wait.

We are already winning. And it's not going to stop.

And to the address of the Russian Federation I will only say that I am joining the words of my compatriots who in one voice say: You be damned!

Glory to Ukraine!

Glory to Ukrainians!

—  Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Facebook

Putin spins sanctions

Update 1:36 p.m. EST March 10: Russian President Vladimir Putin is putting a spin on the sanctions that the West has imposed on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin said that his country would adapt, “In the end, it will enhance our interdependence, self-sufficiency, and sovereignty,” The New York Times reported.

He said that Russia would “overcome these difficulties.”

Uniqlo pulls out of Russia

Update 1:26 p.m. EST March 10: The parent company for the clothing store Uniqlo has announced the end of business in Russia. The founder of Fast Retailing had said that it would continue to do business in the country but then did an about-face after backlash erupted, The New York Times reported.

Tadashi Yanai had previously told a Japanese newspaper, “Clothing is a necessity of life. The people of Russia have the same right to live as we do,” the Times reported.

But the company said on Thursday in a statement that “Fast Retailing is strongly against any acts of hostility. We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals,” the newspaper reported.

Western Union, Marsh McLennan latest companies to sever ties to Russia

Update 12:26 p.m. EST March 10: More companies are cutting their ties to Russia. The latest are professional services firm Marsh McLennan and Western Union, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Western Union has suspended operations in not only Russia but also Belarus, where Russia is launching some of its invasion from.

Western Union has also been helping customers in Ukraine, including giving donations to humanitarian-relief groups, and by providing fee-free money transfers, the newspaper reported.

US considers more sanctions; Ukraine offers ‘deserter’s hotline’

Update 12:19 p.m. EST March 10: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the country and its allies are considering more sanctions against Russia.

“The Russian economy will be devastated as a consequence of what we’ve already done, but we…continue to consider further steps we can take,” Yellen said, according to CNN.

She did not give specifics on what could come next.

Meanwhile, as Russian troops continue to try to advance on key targets, the governor of Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, said he is setting up a deserter’s hotline for Russian military members who don’t want to fight, CNN reported.

There have been no confirmed reports that any Russian fighter has deserted, CNN reported.

“What is the Russians’ problem? They don’t want to attack. They think they’ve been misled, they’ve been told these are military exercises, almost every one of them says that. But they can’t go back either, because they say those in Kherson will shoot at them when they retreat. So they are stranded in those villages, nor here nor there,” Kim said.

“I’d like to arrange some kind of ‘green corridor’ for the Russians, those who haven’t fired at the civilians or committed any crimes yet. For those who’d like to live, I’ll organize a hotline to call in, to come and stay alive, and avoid jail when you get back to Russia. I’m arranging this, and I’m hopeful this will work,” Kim said, according to CNN.

Biden blames Putin for inflation hike

Update 11:00 a.m. EST March 10: As the U.S. is battling inflation, and household budgets are being stretched to the limits, President Joe Biden says the blame should be placed on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Inflation is now at a rate of 7.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an amount not seen since January 1982, CNN reported.

Price increases came from gas, food and housing with prices overall rising 0.8% in February. Food prices went up 1% when compared to January and overall have gone up 7.9% in the past 12 months, the largest jump since July 1981. Grocery store prices rose 8.6% over the year, the largest increase since April 1981, according to CNN.

Gas prices are up 6.6% in the past month but 38% over the past year.

In a statement released after the U.S. inflation report came out, Biden said that while jobs are being created at a “record level” ... “At the same time, today’s inflation report is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched by price increases and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin’s price hike. A large contributor to inflation this month was an increase in gas and energy prices as markets reacted to Putin’s aggressive actions. As I have said from the start, there will be costs at home as we impose crippling sanctions in response to Putin’s unprovoked war, but Americans can know this: the costs we are imposing on Putin and his cronies are far more devastating than the costs we are facing.”

Biden said he is trying to help bring down costs by having 600 million barrels of oil released by U.S. strategic reserves, trying to have more products made in America and strengthening supply chains.

Goldman Sachs exits Russia

Update 10:00 a.m. EST March 10: Goldman Sachs is the first Wall Street Bank to decide to sever ties with Russia.

“Goldman Sachs is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” a company spokesperson told CNN.

The company is not the only one with business dealings in Russia, CNBC reported. Many large banks based in the U.S. have some operations in Russia.

Citigroup is also in the process of ending its consumer business in Russia. Right now it’s operating “on a more limited basis given current circumstances and obligations,” CNN reported.

Russia claims Mariupol maternity hospital was militia base

Update 9:34 a.m. EST March 10: Russia said the maternity hospital it attacked was instead a militia base, but Ukraine leaders deny the claim, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Russia stands by saying it was a legitimate target and that no civilians were at the location when it was attacked despite video footage showing a pregnant woman and other wounded people being rescued from the rubble.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the hospital was a base for local radical militia and that it had no staff.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko called the statement “A lie and nothing more.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We will definitely ask our military, because, of course, we don’t have clear information about what happened there, and probably the military will provide some,” The Wall Street Journal and Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Estonia bans Russian tourists; UK adjusts visa application system for refugees

Update 9:23 a.m. EST March 10: Estonia will not grant tourist visas for Russians who are trying to come into the country while the invasion into Ukraine continues.

“Estonia is no longer issuing new C and D category (tourist) visas to Russian citizens. The ban will last for as long as Russia continues waging war against Ukraine,” the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets said, according to CNN. “We are actively working to ensure that our deterrence measures in this region are stronger than they have been so far, because the situation in Europe and in security has changed dramatically and will probably never return to Feb. 23.”

There will be exceptions for people who have family members in Estonia and who have a humanitarian or medical reason to be in Estonia.

While Estonia is putting up diplomatic blockers on Russia, the United Kingdom will be making it easier for Ukrainian refugees to enter the country.

The UK has put its visa applications for refugees online after delays have hampered application centers.

Refugees who have passports do not need to go to a processing center to travel to the UK starting next week.

There will be security checks on Ukrainians when they enter the UK after a history of Russian poisonings on dissents in Britain, CNN reported.

European Union member countries are allowing refugees to enter without a visa and without a family connection, but since the UK broke away from the EU, it requires a visa to enter, The New York Times reported.

WHO: 24 attacks on health care in Ukraine

Update 8:47 a.m. EST March 10: The World Health Organization has confirmed that there have been 24 attacks verified on health care in Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, CNN reported.

Those attacks have resulted in at least 12 deaths and 17 injuries. Eight of the injured and two of the deaths were health care workers.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the bombing of medical centers for women and children, like the one in Mariupol on Wednesday, is unacceptable, CNN and the Vatican News reported.

The Vatican said it would mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if requested.

WATCH: Ukraine hospitals suffer during Russian attack (ncd)

Harris embraces call for war crimes investigation

Update 8 a.m. EST March 10: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is backing calls for an investigation into whether Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, according to the AP.

“Absolutely, there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching,” Harris said Thursday alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda while in Warsaw.

“It is obvious to us that in Ukraine, Russians are committing war crimes,” Duda said.

Harris praises Poland for taking in Ukrainian refugees

Update 7 a.m. EST March 10: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday praised Poland for accepting more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion began last month.

“I’ve been watching or reading about the work of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and so I bring you thanks from the American people,” Harris said while meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, according to the AP.

Ukraine foreign minister says no progress made in meeting with Russian counterpart

Update 6 a.m. EST March 10: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said no progress was made during his meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, CNN is reporting.

Following the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum near Antalya, Turkey, Kuleba told reporters that he had hoped the pair would come to an agreement on a possible cease-fire and humanitarian evacuation corridor from Mariupol. Lavrov, however, “was not in a position to commit himself to it” because “there are other decision makers for this matter in Russia,” Kuleba said, according to CNN.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also participated in Thursday’s meeting.

Britain’s armed forces minister calls Mariupol hospital attack a ‘war crime’

Update 5 a.m. EST March 10: British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey is calling a Russian airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital a “war crime,” the AP reported Tuesday.

“When other countries have used chemical weapons, it has caused an international response,” he told the BBC, according to the AP.

Meeting between Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers begins in Turkey

Update 4 a.m. EST March 10: A meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine has begun near Antalya, Turkey, according to the AP.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is also participating in the talks between Russia’s Sergey Lavrov and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

The meeting marks the first high-level talks between Russia and Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last month, the AP reported.

3 killed in airstrike on Mariupol hospital, officials say

Update 3:37 a.m. EST March 10: Three people, including one child, are dead following Wednesday’s airstrike on a Mariupol hospital, the city council said Thursday.

According to the AP, Ukrainian officials said the attack left at least 17 people injured.

Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers to meet in Turkey

Update 2 a.m. EST March 10: The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine are slated to meet Thursday near Antalya, Turkey, according to the AP.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is also set to participate in the talks between Russia’s Sergey Lavrov and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Sony suspends PlayStation console, game shipments to Russia

Update 1 a.m. EST March 10: Sony announced Wednesday that it has suspended all shipments of PlayStation consoles and video games to Russia, according to the AP.

“Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine,” the company said in a statement posted on Twitter. “We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of ‘Gran Turismo 7,’ and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia.”

The company added that it is donating $2 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the international aid group Save the Children, the AP reported.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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