Morning catch-up

Good morning.

Middle East Eye will be live blogging developments in Ukraine again today, with an eye on the tremors felt across Middle East.

Developments are coming in from multiple fronts as fighting continues into the fourth day.

Ukrainian officials confirmed that early on Sunday Russian troops had entered the country’s second largest city, Kharkiv. The Kremlin said it has warned Ukraine that Russia’s military operation would be suspended during any potential talks, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia earlier said its delegation was ready to meet Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian city of Gomel, which Kyiv rejected. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Belarus was complicit in the Russian invasion.

Zelensky also turned down an offer by the US to evacuate him from Kyiv, where earlier on Sunday people were warned to take shelter immediately due to an expected Russian air raid and explosions were heard in the city.

Instead, in a video message, Zelensky announced the formation of a new unit - the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine - made up of foreigners who want to take part in repelling Russian aggression.

More than 150,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country, according to the UN.

The United States and its allies on Saturday moved to block certain Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT international payment system in further punishment of Moscow as it continues its military assault against Ukraine.

Protests against the Russian invasion have also been staged in cities around the world in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty.