Manchester City footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko has thanked the world for standing with his homeland, Ukraine, in an emotional interview with BBC Sport.

The 25-year-old Ukrainian left-back was named captain for City's midweek FA Cup win over Peterborough and carried out the Ukraine flag before the match, having sat out the previous two league games.

You can read more about his interview here.

Image source, Getty Images

CNN and Bloomberg News will temporarily suspend their work in Russia.

It comes after President Vladimir Putin signed legislation that imposes prison terms of up to 15 years on people charged with spreading “fake news” about the war in Ukraine.

“The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country,” said Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.

A spokesperson for CNN said it would stop broadcasting in Russia "while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward".

The BBC suspended its own operations within the country earlier on Friday.

Several websites - including BBC Russian - are no longer accessible within the country. Nor are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's President has condemned Western leaders for repeatedly ruling out the introduction of a no-fly-zone over his country.

Speaking during a televised address to the Ukrainian people, Volodymyr Zelensky said Western leaders knew Russian aggression against the country was likely to increase and accused them of granting Vladimir Putin licence to continue bombing towns and cities.

"Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, Nato deliberately decided not to close the sky over Ukraine," he said in a video address from the capital city of Kyiv.

"Today the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone."

Earlier on Friday in Brussels, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described the situation in Ukraine as "horrific", but said allied forces would not move into Ukraine either by land or air.

Western officials have argued that a no-fly-zone would oblige Nato jets to fire on Russian fighters, potentially sparking World War Three.

Image source, Reuters

Mexican citizens fleeing Ukraine have started to arrive in the country's capital, Mexico City.

Oksana Guliaieva, pictured above, holds her child at the Benito Juarez International airport after being evacuated from Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

On Sunday, Mexico's National Defence Secretariat announced its plans to "rescue" all Mexican citizens who are in Romania after fleeing Ukraine.

The flight was ordered by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address the humanitarian crisis as a result of the war.

A group of 81 people displaced by the conflict were on the first flight out of Romania and have arrived in Mexico today.

The ever-present danger facing news organisations covering the war in Ukraine is well known, and this remarkable footage from Sky News, external shows that risk in stark detail.

The broadcaster's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his team were attacked outside Kyiv but miraculously all escaped and are now safely back in the UK.

Ramsay, who was wounded in the incident, says he and his colleagues were "very lucky".

The World Bank Group says it is preparing to disburse $700m (£529m) in loans for Ukraine this month.

On Friday, its chairman David Malpass spoke on the phone with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The bank's board is now reviewing a $500m loan proposal called the Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine or FREE Ukraine, according to a readout of the call.

The loan has been "increased with guarantees from bilateral partners, including the Netherlands and Sweden", the bank noted.

Malpass also told Zelensky that the bank was working to "provide an additional $200 million in fast-disbursing support by the end of March" and has set up a "multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine".

Earlier on Friday, he said World Bank shareholders were "horrified" by the war in Ukraine and fear the "huge supply shock" it is creating for world energy and food markets.

Myroslava Petsa
BBC News Ukrainian

Image source, The Feldman Ecopark

It took 10 years to build Kharkiv's Feldman Ecopark, and just one day to destroy it, zoo director Vitaly Ilchenko said after it was hit by Russian missiles.

Home to around 2,000 animals, the zoo is located just outside the city, covering more than 354 acres.

A day before the war began, its Facebook page showed a video of a monkey enjoying fruit snacks.

The very next day, the zoo said it had been hit by five Russian missiles, killing and injuring some of the animals, prompting calls for volunteers to help rebuild.

Kharkiv is a Ukrainian city like no other. Everything about it is special.

When it comes to its zoo, it stands out, big time. It’s three-and-half times the size of Kyiv's and home to half as many animals.

Image source, The Feldman Ecopark

When the rockets began falling, zookeepers let some of the animals - like deer and moose - free from their enclosures and into the park’s forest so they wouldn’t get scared or injured.

On the first morning of the invasion, Russian shelling broke the glass aviaries of housing monkeys, porcupines and raccoons and the distressed animals fled.

While zookeepers managed to find them, they cannot locate a pair of dholes and asked locals to help.

But even a war can’t stop life. On the last day of winter, following Russian grad rocket attacks, the zoo's pair of kiangs welcomed a baby colt.

Announcing the new arrival, it declared: "We can’t be defeated."

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

America's top diplomat Antony Blinken has told the BBC he is convinced Ukraine can win its war with Russia.

The US Secretary of State said he could not say how long the war would last but insisted that Ukraine’s defeat was not inevitable.

He acknowledged “the weight of the Russian military, if it puts everything into it, far exceeds that of what Ukraine is able to muster".

But he credited the Ukrainian people for their resolve and said he expects it will become clear "over time" that Moscow cannot subjugate the country's people to its will.

"If it’s the intention of Moscow to try somehow to topple the government and install its own puppet regime, 45 million Ukrainians are going to reject that one way or the other,” he said.

Blinken said the US and other allies remain concerned about the risk of escalation.

"The only thing worse than a war which is contained to Ukraine is one that escalates even further and goes beyond it”.

Image source, Reuters

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, says there is a "human avalanche of people" pouring across Ukraine's borders into neighbouring countries.

He told BBC World News the total number of Ukrainian refugees so far was "very quickly heading towards 1.5 million" and "escalating very quickly".

Speaking from the Moldovan border, Grandi said Moldova itself had already received over 200,000 refugees, which he called "a very difficult burden to bear" for a country outside the EU with limited infrastructure and a small population.

He said that Moldovan officials were doing a fantastic job but that organisation of supplies at the border was taking time.

Grandi also praised the "incredible outpouring of solidarity" shown by private individuals and firms, noting the UNHCR had received over 100 million contributions over the past few days.

But he said the challenge would be sustaining this over the long term for what would be a "long emergency".

"By the grace of God, the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe" on Thursday, said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN.

"We all waited to exhale as we watched the horrific situation unfold in real time," she said at a crisis meeting in New York, referring to a Russian attack and the subsequent seizure of Ukraine's nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhya - the biggest in Europe.

The ambassador condemned the Russian action as "reckless", saying it threatened the lives of people across Europe.

Following the news Russia has banned Facebook, we're hearing reports it has also blocked access to Twitter and YouTube.

Tass news agency says Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has restricted access to Twitter, and Interfax news agency said earlier the service had been blocked.

A message has appeared on the regulator's website that access to Twitter was limited on the basis of a decision from the Prosecutor General’s Office on 24 February - the day Russia launched its invasion.

Facebook's parent company Meta says Instagram and WhatsApp - which it also owns - are still working.

YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are among the most popular social media platforms in Russia, with tens of thousands of users across the country.

As Russian forces attack cities across Ukraine, many people have moved into bomb shelters or basements of buildings to stay safe.

Maksym is sheltering with his family, a group of strangers and a piano.

He tells Radio 5 Live how he’s been playing music to provide “relaxation” for himself and those sheltering with him.

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's government has said it will issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to fund its military as they defend the country against the Russian invasion.

NFTs are a digital asset that can have value but do not have a tangible form.

The announcement by deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov comes in the same week the country raised more than £200m from the sale of war bonds.

The bonds are one of a number of ways Ukraine is using to raise funds.

Read more about the Ukrainian government's plans to sell NFTs here.

Facebook says Russia's move to block the social media network will cut millions of people off from reliable information and a forum to share their views.

As we reported a short while ago, Russia says it blocked Facebook over what it called "discrimination" of Russian state media outlets.

Many of the Kremlin-backed outlets have faced restrictions on various online platforms over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information... and silenced from speaking," says Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook's parent Meta.

He adds: "We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organise for action."

Russian authorities have been stepping up pressure against independent media. Facebook has previously also faced criticism for allowing disinformation to be spread on its platform, but has said that it takes steps to police such posts.

Image source, Getty Images

The White House has criticised Republican senator Lindsey Graham after he appeared to call for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Twitter.

The outspoken American had said the only way Russia's invasion of Ukraine ends is "for somebody in Russia to take this guy out".

Graham, who represents South Carolina, tweeted: "You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service".

On Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: "That’s not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you would hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration".

Graham's comments have drawn outrage in Russia, with the country's ambassador to the US slamming them as "hysterical Russophobia".

Here's more on how Russians are reacting to the tweet.

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again thanked the global community for being in solidarity with Ukraine, as it defends from a full-scale Russian invasion.

In a new video posted to his Telegram channel, Zelensky delivered a rallying message to Ukrainians, saying: "Today, we are all servicemen. Some of us are military servicemen, serving our country in the army.

"Others are serving as doctors... others are working to protect the children and their families. This is our heart, the heart of Ukraine, standing together to against evil".

He dedicated minutes of silence for the fallen, and called upon the people of Europe to "come out on the street" and support Ukraine. "Support our fight, because if Ukraine will not stand, Europe will not stand. If we will fall, you will fall," he said.

"All of you today are Ukrainians," he concluded.

Image source, Getty Images

It has been more than a week since Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine by air, land, and sea.

For months, President Vladimir Putin denied he would invade his neighbour, only to tear up a peace deal and poured forces into Ukraine's north, east and south.

As the number of dead climbs, Russia's leader stands accused of shattering peace in Europe.

What happens next could jeopardise the continent's entire security structure.

Read more: How far will Russia go and what does Putin want?

Image source, EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has now signed into law a bill that punishes the spread of "fake" information about the country's armed forces with jail sentences of up to 15 years.

The bill was unanimously passed by Russian lawmakers on Thursday.

Several independent Russian media outlets have been forced to close in recent days after describing as "invasion" or "war" what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Putin also signed another bill that would allow fines or jail terms for calling for sanctions against Russia.

Image source, Getty Images

From Brussels, where he has been meeting with EU and Nato leaders, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a grim analysis of the war.

"Stability in Europe hangs in the balance, and the international rules-based order is being put to the test," he warned.

He spoke of the war's "ever increasing toll on civilians" and said the world had seen Russia's "grisly tactics before, in Syria and Chechnya".

He also denounced the Kremlin for risking a nuclear incident.

Blinken said the worst was likely yet to come, but reiterated the West's position that it will not attempt to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, as that would likely lead to "full-fledged war".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is speaking in Brussels, taking questions from reporters after remarks.

Asked by the BBC whether the US is considering energy sanctions against Russia, Blinken said "nothing is off the table" - but added that it is not in the US interest to cut the global energy supply, as this would send the price of oil surging.

Instead, "we have a strong interest in degrading Russian energy," and reducing dependence on Russian energy in the long term, Blinken said.

Asked how long that would take as Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine, he said: "I'm not going to put a timeframe on it".