Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace
Biden will announce the news in his State of the Union address, a source said.
Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."
Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, don't appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia's economy and Putin himself.
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Russia hikes key rate to 20% as ruble tumbles
Russia’s central bank on Monday raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% in an apparent effort to slow the fallout from severe international sanctions.
The rate hike came as the Russian ruble tumbled, trading down as much as 30% against the U.S. dollar on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The currency traded about 17% lower midday in Moscow.
The Russian stock market reportedly closed for the day.
-ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki
500,000 refugees have fled Ukraine, UN says
More than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Thursday, the U.N. Refugee Agency said on Monday.
More than half have crossed the border into Poland, the agency said. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, had said on Sunday that 368,000 people had fled to neighboring countries.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Ukraine delegation arrives for talks with Russia
The Ukrainian delegation sent for talks with Russia arrived Monday morning at the Belarus-Ukraine border, where the meeting will be held.
Ukraine has said the key issue for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Russia has signalled it wants to discuss Ukraine adopting “neutral status.”
The head of Russia’s delegation has said the two sides will meet within about an hour. They are meeting on the Pripyat River, north of Chernobyl.
The Ukrainian delegation includes the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, the head of Zelenskyy’s parliamentary party, as well as advisors to the president and MPs.
Russia’s delegation includes officials from the Foreign and Defense ministries, and the presidential administration.
The talks were agreed to on Sunday in a call between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Fighting continued throughout the night, as Russia attempted to advance and bombarded Ukrainian forces.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Julia Drozd
Russian advance slows north of Kyiv, UK military says
The U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Monday that the advance of Russian ground forces had been slowed by Ukraine’s defense of an airport in Hostomel, about 19 miles north of Kyiv.
“Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Blinken calls on Moscow to commit to not invading, meet next week
Secretary of State Antony Blinken closed his remarks to the U.N. Security Council meeting by challenging the Russian Federation to "announce today -- with no qualification of equivocation or deflection -- that Russia will not invade Ukraine, stated clearly stated plainly, to the world."
"And then demonstrate it by sending your troops, your tanks, your planes back to their various can hangars and sending your diplomats to the negotiating table," he added.
Blinken laid out how the U.S. believes Russia will attack Ukraine -- but said he would welcome being wrong and for Russia to withdraw.
"Now, I'm mindful that some have called into question our information, recalling previous instances where intelligence ultimately did not bear out," he said, apparently referring to a similar address then-Secretary of State Colin Powell famously made to the Security Council presenting U.S. intelligence to justify the Iraq War. "But let me be clear, I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent one," he said, citing allies that agree with U.S. assessments.
"If Russia doesn't invade Ukraine, then we will be relieved that Russia changed course and proved our predictions wrong. That would be a far better outcome in the course we're currently on. And we'll gladly accept any criticism that anyone directs at us," Blinken said.
He continued, "Russia can still make if there's any truth to his claim that is committed to diplomacy. Diplomacy is the only responsible way to resolve this crisis"
Blinken also said that he sent a letter to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier Thursday proposing that they meet next week in Europe following their talks in recent weeks "to discuss the steps that we can take to resolve this crisis without conflict" and that U.S. is also proposing meetings at the NATO Russia Council and the OSC Permanent Council.
"These meetings can pave the way for a summit with key leaders in the context of de-escalation to reach understandings on our mutual security concerns," he added.