WAVE OF SANCTIONS AGAINST MOSCOW OVER UKRAINE INVASION

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted a wave of sanctions as global leaders seek to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin.

The United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, and New Zealand unveiled a series of sanctions against Russia targeting banks, oil refineries, and military exports, which also includes EU's move to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The EU's unanimous decision, part of a broader sanctions package, indicated that Western powers are moving toward unprecedented measures to try to force Putin to stop the brutal invasion of Russia's neighbour and from unleashing a major war in Europe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also told NATO leaders during a call Friday that Britain would move to impose sanctions against Putin and Lavrov. The EU said it would move to freeze Putin's assets.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday indicated the U.S. sanctions will include a travel ban. President Joe Biden, who had previously said sanctions targeting Putin were under consideration, decided to make the move in the last 24 hours after talks with European leaders.

Psaki said the move is intended send "a clear message about the the strength of the opposition to the actions" by the West against President Putin.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the move would be "a unique step in history toward a nuclear power, a country that has a permanent seat on the Security Council, but also shows ... how united we are." It was unclear what the practical impact on the two men would be and how important their assets in the EU were.

The EU and other Western powers like the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed on a slew of sanctions targeting sectors from Russia's banking sector to its oil refineries and defence industry. And just as Russia was making a pincer movement to choke Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv, Western powers were implementing measures aimed at "asphyxiating Russia's economy," in the words of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

In a sign of papal anger, Pope Francis went to the Russian Embassy himself to "express his concern about the war," the Vatican said. It was an extraordinary, hands-on gesture, since usually popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis, the Vatican head of state, to leave the city state and travel a short distance to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See was a sign of his displeasure.

FIGHTING REACHES KYIV STREETS AS RUSSIA ATTACKS

As the morning approaches, there are reports of intense fighting in Kyiv. Ukrainian Armed Forces said in another Facebook post that there were "heavy battles ongoing" in one part of the city, adding that "active combat" was taking place in some streets. This came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia would try to "storm" Kyiv

More than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire have been reported in the capital, according to Kyiv Independent

However, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov said the army was in "control" of the situation in Kyiv, saying "we are stopping the horde using all means available".

The US administration has asked Congress for $6.4bn worth of aid to help Ukraine. UN aid agencies predict that up to five million Ukranians could flee to surrounding countries.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turned down an offer by Washington to help evacuate him from Ukraine, US media outlets say.

Mr Zelensky said "the fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride", the Associated Press reported, citing a senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation.

PUTIN SENDS MIXED SIGNALS BY CALLING FOR TALKS & COUP

Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on Friday on the second day of a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives, as Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian army to remove the country’s leadership. Putin defied Western warnings to unleash a full-scale invasion that has displaced at least 1,00,000 people and prompted the European Union to adopt personal sanctions against him.

In a televised address, Putin described the Ukrainian government as “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”. “Take power in your own hands”, he urged the Ukrainian military. The brutal language suggested he was not seriously planning to engage Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in peace talks.

But earlier on Friday, a Kremlin spokesman said that . Putin was prepared to send representatives to Belarus for talks with a Ukrainian delegation. The offer came after Putin spoke with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. The spokesman said that the Russian offer came on the heels of a comment by Zelensky that he was ready to discuss “neutral status” for Ukraine.

Putin told Xi that the US and Nato had long ignored Russia’s legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia’s strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Russia is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine, Putin was cited as saying.

NATO CHIEF SAYS ALLIES TO PROVIDE MORE WEAPONS TO UKRAINE

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday the alliance was deploying parts of its combat-ready response force and would continue to send weapons to Ukraine. Stoltenberg also said that Russia was trying to topple the Ukrainian government. “We see rhetoric, the messages, which is strongly indicating that the aim is to remove the democraticallyelected government in Kyiv,” he said following a virtual meeting of Nato leaders. He said some of the 30 allies announced the type of weapons that they would supply Ukraine, including air defences, without giving details. He said that Nato was deploying elements of its rapid response force, which is made up of land, air, maritime and special operations forces, on allied territory. “We are now deploying the Nato response force for the first time in the context of collective defence,” he said.

POPE APPEALS FOR PEACE IN RARE RUSSIA EMBASSY TRIP

Pope Francis visited the Russian embassy on Friday to personally “express his concern about the war”, the Vatican said, in an extraordinary, hands-on papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Usually, popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican, and diplomatic protocol would have called for the Vatican foreign minister to summon the envoy. For Francis, the decision was a sign of anger at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and willingness to appeal personally for an end to it. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of prayer for peace. But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonising the Russian Orthodox Church. The embassy is yet to comment.

UKRAINE CONFLICT: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL MOVED FROM RUSSIA & F1 GP CANCELLED

The 2022 Champions League final will be played in Paris after Russia was stripped of the match following the nation's invasion of Ukraine.

The final of Europe's most prestigious club competition was due to be played in St Petersburg on 28 May.

Meanwhile, Russia's Formula 1 Grand Prix, due to take place in Sochi in September, has been cancelled.

F1 says it is "impossible" to hold the event in "the current circumstances".

International sports federations should move or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus, says the International Olympic Committee.

ISS MAY FALL ON INDIA, CHINA: RUSSIA SPACE CHIEF TO US

Responding to the US announcing sanctions against Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, Dimitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, posted a series of “retaliatory” tweets, one of which spoke of the danger of the 500-tonne structure of the International Space Station (ISS) “dropping on India”. Rogozin’s tweetssaid: “If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the US or Europe (sic)?” “. . . There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China (sic). Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?” the tweet read.

The ISS, built by the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, has been an example of non-partisan cooperation between the space programmes of these countries and has hosted more than 200 people, including from countries that did not built it. Pointing to President Biden’s statment that their sanctions would affect the Russian space programme, Rogozin tweeted: “. . . OK. It remains to find out the details: 1. Do you want to block our access to radiation-resistant space microelectronics? So you already did it quite officially in 2014. As you noticed, we, nevertheless, continue to make our own spacecraft. And we will do them by expanding the production of the necessary components and devices at home. 2. Do you want to ban all countries from launching their spacecraft on the most reliable Russian rockets in the world?”

CANADA APPROVES FIRST PLANT-BASED COVID VACCINE

Canada has become the first country to authorise use of a plant-based Covid-19 vaccine.

Canadian regulators said on Thursday that Medicago's two-dose vaccine could be given to people between 18 to 64 years of age, but said there was too little data on the shots in people 65 and older.

The decision was based on a study of 24,000 adults that found the vaccine was 71 per cent effective at preventing Covid — although that was before the Omicron variant emerged. Side effects were mild, including fever and fatigue.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON MAY BECOME 1ST BLACK WOMAN SUPREME COURT JUDGE

President Joe Biden has nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed segregation.

In Jackson, the US President delivers on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and to further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries.