DIRECT. War in Ukraine: the United States will “coordinate” a “united response” with its allies

6:30 a.m.: update on Monday morning

• Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered his military command to place the Russian nuclear deterrent force on high alert in combat, in response to what he says are aggressive statements by NATO member countries and economic sanctions against Moscow. The United States and NATO condemned this decision.
• Explosions were heard Monday morning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said, while a residential building in the city of Chernihiv in the northern Ukraine, was on fire after being hit by a missile.
• From Russian-Ukrainian talks will be held on the border between Ukraine and Belarus, the Ukrainian presidency said on Sunday.
• The EU and Canada will close their airspaces to Russian planes, including private jets owned by the oligarchs.
• Oil jumped while the ruble plunged nearly 30% after new sanctions were imposed, including the exclusion of some banks from the SWIFT international payment system.
• BP has announced that it will abandon its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft, the most significant decision taken by a Western company in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• The European Union will strengthen its sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus and finance the purchase of arms for Ukraine to support it in the face of the Russian military invasion of its territory, the President of the European Commission announced on Sunday.
• In Belarus, a referendum on Sunday approved a new constitution that removes the obligation to remain a “nuclear-free zone” of the country, according to Russian news agencies.
• At least 352 civilians, including 14 children, died and 1,684 people were injured since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.
• Thousands of Ukrainians continue to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The number of people fleeing fighting in Ukraine abroad is approaching 400,000.
• Ukraine has taken the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Russia’s military attack on its territory.

6:15 a.m .: The United States will inflict a “united” response on Russia

US President Joe Biden will meet by phone with US allies and partners on Monday at 4:15 p.m. GMT (5:15 p.m. Paris time), to discuss the latest developments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and coordinate a united response, the White House announced.

6 a.m.: Explosions in Kiev and Kharkiv

Explosions were heard Monday morning in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s state service for special communications and information protection said. . Prior to that, calm had reigned for a few hours in Kyiv, Ukraine’s state service said in a brief statement on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

In a separate statement, the agency said a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv was on fire after being hit by a missile. Another city in northern Ukraine, Zhytomyr, was hit by missiles overnight, the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command said on Facebook.