March 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Jessie and Jacob Boeckmann, an American couple, traveled to Kyiv last month for the birth of their daughter through a Ukrainian surrogate. But two days after the birth, Jessie woke to the sound of shelling as Russia's invasion began.

They tried driving to the western city of Lviv to reach a temporary US Embassy there, but a massive gridlock turned what is normally a six-hour drive into a 27-hour crawl.

En route, they learned the embassy was closed — so they changed direction for the Polish border, as combat vehicles rolled past outside their windows.

About 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border, traffic came to a standstill. On a cold day, after hours sitting in the car with barely any movement, they had to make a choice: wait or walk.

So they wrapped up baby Vivian tight and started walking. When they finally got to the border, it was chaos, with "thousands and thousands of people, all kind of packed on top of one another trying to exit the country," Jacob said.

Since women and children are being prioritized, Jessie and the baby were able to get to the front of the line and enter Poland, with Jacob crossing separately hours later.

The family is now safely home in California, but they're aware how lucky their escape was.

They've lost touch with their Ukrainian surrogate, who until then had been in continuous contact. And though they walked 8 miles with a newborn, many people across Ukraine are "walking so much further than that in order to get to the border," Jessie said.

New satellite images of areas in Ukraine hit by Russian military strikes show the extent of the damage in the first five days of the invasion.

The images were captured on February 28 by Maxar Technologies. Since then, dense cloud cover has prevented most satellites from observing anything on the ground across the country. 

The images show homes on fire in the village of Rivnopillya in the Chernhiv region, roughly 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) north of the capital, Kyiv. Dozens of impact craters can be seen dotting the fields surrounding the village.

In Chernihiv, a bridge across the Stryzhen River appears to have been destroyed, while residential buildings and a factory nearby seem to have sustained damage. A Russian military convoy was also seen on a nearby roadway.

The satellite images also show the burned remains of Russian military vehicles in a residential area in Bucha, a town outside of Kyiv. On Sunday, Ukrainian officials claimed they had thwarted the advance of a Russian column in Bucha. 

In Sukachi, a small town 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) northwest of Kyiv, a large impact crater is seen in the middle of a roadway, with houses nearby appearing significantly damaged.

The images also captured scenes of daily life amid the war in both Chernihiv and Kyiv, with dozens of people lining up outside supermarkets.

Olena Gnes has been hiding in a basement in Kyiv with her three children, the youngest only a few months old, since the Russian invasion began, while her husband fights to defend Ukraine.

On Wednesday, she took advantage of the relative quiet to bring her children home for a quick shower and to stock up on supplies before returning to the shelter. "I thought maybe the children will play a little bit over there ... but they were afraid to stay at home. They were asking all the time, are bombs flying?" she told CNN late Wednesday.

This is the new reality for Gnes, her family and millions of Ukrainians — an unrelenting and exhausting fear as they watch the war unfold, and hear news from relatives in other cities of the destruction there.

She added that she had hoped Western countries — specifically the United States and NATO members — would come to their defense. "They are so powerful and so cool," she said. "But it looks like this is our problem ... Maybe I watch too much Hollywood movies."

"We've been in the Soviet Union, there was nothing good for us Ukrainians in the Soviet Union — and we will not want to come back," she said.

But, she added, as Ukraine's forces push back hard against Russian troops, people's spirits have risen with the resistance.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, during which he expressed solidarity and offered further support for the Ukrainian people, according to a statement from Trudeau's office.

In a tweet, Zelensky thanked Trudeau for his leadership in imposing sanctions on Russia, adding he “stressed the need to expand restrictive measures.”

Canada began providing lethal military aid to Ukraine last month, reversing its prior policy. 

Trudeau said he commended Zelensky’s bravery and frontline leadership, calling it inspirational for Canadians and people around the world.

According to the statement, the two leaders discussed ways in which Canada could continue to support Ukraine in the immediate future.

One million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a tweet Wednesday evening.

“For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided,” he added.

Want to help? You can learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine here. 

South Korea is relocating its embassy in Ukraine from Kyiv to a "safe area," the country's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday as Russian troops step up their assault on the Ukrainian capital.

The ministry did not disclose the embassy’s destination, citing safety reasons. The embassy will resume operations once it settles down in the new location, the ministry said.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba by phone on Wednesday, according to the ministry. 

Aid to Ukraine: Following Ukraine’s request, South Korea will deliver emergency medical supplies including PPE, first aid kits, gloves, masks, and blankets. This is in addition to the $10 million of humanitarian support already pledged, the ministry said.

The ministers agreed to ensure the safety of nationals of both countries in Ukraine and South Korea. Seoul has granted stay extensions for Ukrainians in the East Asian country.

Ukrainian forces captured several Russian troops on Wednesday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, where fierce fighting broke out in recent days, according to the region's governor and a member of Ukraine's Parliament pictured with the captured soldiers.

Roman Kostenko, a lawmaker and secretary of the Parliament’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, told CNN that a reconnaissance unit of the Russian GRU’s 10th brigade had been intercepted on the outskirts of Mykolaiv.

CNN cannot independently verify the circumstances of the capture or the status of the prisoners. CNN has observed clashes in the past days as Russian troops tried to enter the city.

“They are attacking Mykolaiv occasionally, but the fight is on the outskirts and they try to go around us to close the loop on us," Kostenko said.

Mykolaiv is close to the Black Sea, located about an hour away from Kherson, a strategically important city that has seen heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops this week.

Russian soldier calls home: One of the captured Russian soldiers was filmed while being allowed to call his mother on the telephone, according to a video posted on Telegram by the region's governor, Vitaliy Kim.

A Ukrainian soldier took over the call and said, "You know what your son does? He fights and kills our civilians."

The Ukrainian soldier added, "We will not touch him because I am half Russian and Ukrainian." 

Earlier this week, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing put up at least two banners outside its building in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, bearing the words "We support Ukraine."

The embassy tweeted a photo of the banners on Tuesday, with the caption, "Stand with Ukraine."

By Wednesday night, one of the banners had been vandalized by graffiti using expletive language against NATO, as seen by a CNN producer in Beijing. 

It's unknown if any arrests have been made in connection with the incident. 

Some context: China has found itself in a complex position regarding Ukraine, juggling its close strategic partnership with Moscow with growing international outrage over President Vladimir Putin's invasion and Beijing's own seemingly contradictory policy of supporting state sovereignty.

Beijing has avoided condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine, with Chinese officials instead blaming the invasion on "NATO expansion eastward all the way to Russia's doorstep."

Read more about the China-Russia relationship:

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Canada announced new sanctions Wednesday against 10 individuals from two Russian energy companies, Rosneft and Gazprom, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The measures aim to put more pressure on Russia’s leadership to stop the war, according to a news release from Canada’s Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.