March 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Inside the underground bomb shelters of a Kyiv children’s hospital, the mood is somber and quiet.

“The parents do not smile. Neither do the children. But the parents try to make the best of the situation for their children by playing games, singing songs, playing cartoon videos on mobile phones,” photographer Timothy Fadek said. “When the sirens are heard, the parents gather their children and try to distract them from the outside noise.”

The hospital’s intensive-care unit has been moved to the shelters. Some children are on ventilators. Others require transfusions. A few require surgery. Many are receiving chemotherapy to fight cancer.

There has been recent shelling near the hospital at night, and doctors told Fadek they fear the worst is yet to come.

“Hospital staff is unsure if the hospital will remain off-limits as a target,” Fadek said. “So they try to place as many parents and their children in the bomb shelter as possible, especially when the sirens go off, usually five times a day or more.”

The US Department of Justice is launching a task force to investigate Russian oligarchs, President Biden announced during his first State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

Biden said the US would join with European allies to “find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, your private jets.” 

Speaking directly to oligarchs, he added, “we’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

Closing airspace: He also confirmed that the US will close off American airspace to all Russian flights to further isolate Russia, “adding an additional squeeze on their economy.”

“He has no idea what’s coming,” Biden said, presumably of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“The ruble has lost 30% of its value,” Biden added. “The Russian stock market has lost 40% of its value and trading remains suspended. Russia’s economy is reeling and Putin alone is to blame.”

Follow our live coverage of Biden's State of the Union address here.

President Joe Biden expressed solidarity with Ukrainian people in his State of the Union address on Tuesday -- but reiterated that the US would not deploy troops to Ukraine.

“Let each of us here tonight in this Chamber, if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world," he said -- receiving a loud standing ovation from the members, many of whom wore blue and yellow in support of Ukraine. Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, stood beside first lady Jill Biden as the chamber applauded, holding her country’s flag.

“We, the United States of America, stand with the Ukrainian people,” Biden said. 

 But he added:

“For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia,” he added. 

NATO's Article 5: Previously, Biden has said the US would hold fast to NATO’s Article 5 principle, which says that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all member counties.

In Tuesday’s remarks, he pledged, “As I’ve made crystal clear, the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power.” 

He added that the US and its allies were providing “more than $1 billion in direct assistance to Ukraine,” including military, economic, and humanitarian aide.

Follow our live coverage of Biden's State of the Union address here.

ExxonMobil pledged Tuesday to leave its last remaining oil-and-gas project in Russia, and not to invest in new developments in the oil-rich nation.

By moving to discontinue its Sakhalin-1 project in Russia, Exxon joins a growing list of Western companies including Apple, Ford and General Motors distancing themselves from Moscow. A series of major energy companies, including BP and Shell, have similarly moved to leave Russia.

The last project: The Sakhalin-1 project is described as one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia, according to the project’s website. Exxon Neftegas Limited, an Exxon subsidiary, has a 30% stake and serves as the operator. Russia’s Rosneft also owns a stake.

An Exxon spokesperson confirmed to CNN that this is the company’s last remaining Russian project. By quitting this project, Exxon would end more than a quarter-century of continuing business presence in Russia.

Exxon, the largest US oil company, was a glaring omission among the big brands cutting ties with Russia. The company operates the Sakhalin-1 project on behalf of a consortium that includes Russian, Japanese and Indian companies.

The company did not detail the financial toll of unwinding a project it has sunk considerable resources into over the years. 

Exxon signaled this will not be done overnight, saying it has an obligation to ensure the safety of the people and environment as it quits the project.

“The process to discontinue operations will need to be carefully managed and closely coordinated with the co-venturers in order to ensure it is executed safely,” Exxon said.

Aerospace company Boeing will suspend support for Russian airlines, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Some context: Many countries have closed their airspace to all Russian airlines and aircraft as the invasion of Ukraine continues, and a number of international airlines have suspended flights in and out of the country.

US President Joe Biden announced the US would ban Russian aircraft from US airspace at his State of the Union address tonight.

Almost a week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's forces have made major advances in border regions in the north, east and south of the country — but faced slower progress than expected toward the capital, Kyiv.

Russian forces attacked key cities from several sides on Tuesday, scaling up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in the northeast. They also broke through a heavily contested port city in the south, and have likely encircled several others.

Russia has also stepped up its attacks on Kyiv, with rockets hitting a Holocaust memorial site in the city on Tuesday. A missile also hit a private maternity ward near the city, though everybody had evacuated.

Meanwhile, a 40-mile long Russian convoy of tanks, armored vehicles and towed artillery is heading toward the Ukrainian capital, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies.

When Rep. Victoria Spartz was elected to the House in 2020, she became the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress.

Little did she know that after just one year on the job, that distinction would take on even greater significance as Russia brutally invades her home country and the United States debates what to do about it.

As a freshman, the Indiana Republican is using her microphone in Congress to make passionate pleas for a stronger US response to the rapidly escalating crisis in Ukraine, and hoping her personal connection to the conflict will make the message resonate more strongly. All the while, Spartz is dealing with the emotional toll of watching the bloody invasion unfold, knowing she still has friends and family — including her grandmother —who are in Ukraine.

Spartz is calling for stiffer sanctions, immediate aid and more military resources, saying the Ukrainian people want more weapons — not troops — because they want to fight the Russians themselves. She also is advocating for refugees and drawing attention to the horrors of the humanitarian crisis that is quickly unfolding.

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The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body for many motorsport events including Formula One, said Tuesday it would not bar Russian and Belarusian drivers from competitions amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Drivers from both countries are allowed to continue racing — but under a neutral “FIA flag” and without displaying any Russian or Belarusian national symbols, colors or flags on their uniform, equipment and car, the FIA ruled at a World Motor Sport Council meeting.

This ruling also extends to individual competitors.

A Russian military strike in the small Ukrainian town of Borodjanka on Tuesday tore through two apartment blocks, videos on social media show.  

Borodjanka, located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the center of Kyiv, is the latest civilian area facing a hail of Russian munitions as President Vladimir Putin's forces advance on the capital.

CNN is unable to verify whether there were any injuries or fatalities in the military strike in Borodjanka. CNN has reached out to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry for comment but has not yet received a response.

The videos from Borodjanka have been geolocated, and their authenticity verified by CNN. 

Videos showed a restaurant on the first floor of the complex reduced to rubble. A number of people, bundled in heavy coats, are shown running away. Additional videos show the extent of the destruction, with the ground behind the complex littered with burning cars.

Parts of the apartment buildings have collapsed, with significant portions missing from the facades. A playground nearby is on fire, with the swinging benches and slides strewn with rubble and splintered trees.

"A plane flew by twice dropping three or four bombs here," another man says in the one of the videos. "Cries can be heard (from inside the rubble). We are trying to find out if anyone's still alive (in there), based on their sounds. Good Lord!"

Back in front, near the destroyed walls of the restaurant, another video shows the roadway littered with debris and the twisted metal frame of a vehicle.