February 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

France is moving its embassy from Kyiv to Lviv, the country's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced Monday.

“Threats were important enough to relocate,” the French foreign minister added.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin put deterrence forces, including Russian nuclear forces, on alert, Le Drian said, "It’s a useless, disproportionate threat."

"It’s a threat that he had already made on Feb. 24 when he announced the first operations. It’s a threat that he has just renewed," he said. "It’s a threat of escalation which makes no sense and that goes against the commitments made very publicly by Russia to measure major strategic risks at the beginning of 2022.”

More than 120,000 people fled Ukraine's western border in the past 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian border control service.

This figure is more than double the number of daily crossings compared to prior to the Russian invasion.

In a tweet, the service reported that before the “aggravation of a humanitarian situation,” 50,000 people crossed the border — on average — each day.

CNN's Phil Mattingly broke down the costs that are piling up for Russia and Vladimir Putin as more sanctions are handed down. Mattingly said that the decision by a coalition of Western and Asian countries to "freeze all assets" from the Russian central bank was the "most dramatic step yet."

Mattingly said that these reserves essentially allowed Putin and Russia "to prop up their own currency" and allow them "to provide liquidity to their banks." 

"This would allow them to be viewed as sanctions-proof — No longer when you go directly at the central bank and start to freeze assets across the globe," Mattingly said. 

Mattingly pointed out that a sanction like this is extremely rare.

"Now when you want to figure out how rare this is to target a country's central bank. Look at the countries targeted before. Venezuela, Iran, Syria, all viewed as maligned actors. The difference here, no country, the scale of Russia's economy, $1.7 trillion ... has ever been targeted with sanctions like this before." 

"It just underscores the moment we're in right now and the scale of the response," Mattingly added. 

Watch it here:

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced Monday that the organization will not hold any events in Belarus this year "due to Russian aggression against Ukraine."

The announcement comes on the heels of the tennis governing body's decision to indefinitely cancel all events in Russia, a ruling that was revealed on Friday.

The ITF has also postponed the World Tennis Tour M15 event that was due to take place in Ukraine in April "amidst heightened security concerns."

Battered by intense shelling, peppered with gunfire and then ... everything goes quiet.

Along Ukraine's strategic Black Sea coast, Russian forces are playing a strange game, testing defenses, spilling blood and raising tensions but failing to drive home any significant gains.

The small city of Mykolaiv, located on an inlet that would be a useful access point for Russians to bring in troops and supplies, was on Monday picking up the pieces from a weekend of heavy fighting that saw Ukrainian hardware destroyed and civilians targeted.

Broken glass and burnt-out tanks littered the streets. The skyline was dominated by the unusual site of a raised road bridge, the structure elevated for the first time in years to hamper any further ground incursions.

And in the air, as well as the sound of intermittent air raid sirens, the mystery of what Russia's probing attacks in Mykolaiv and other Black Sea towns are trying to achieve.

They've clearly managed to instill fear. Ukrainian troops were on edge in the wake of the fighting, wary of the threat of saboteurs. As CNN toured the city, we saw people pulled from cars and thrown to the ground, suspected to be infiltrators.

Ukrainian troops were trying to put on a brave face. Guarding the wreckage of military vehicles, clearly hit by a ballistic missile with significant firepower, one soldier initially claimed they were Russian before admitting they belonged to Ukrainian forces.

The fighting along this region of the Black Sea has been some of the most intense in Ukraine in the past few days, with unconfirmed reports of Russian paratroopers on the ground, as well as very visible blasts lighting up the skyline.

Yet, in similar strikes on other towns, it's been almost the same picture. Intense Russian bombardment followed by a pause that has allowed the Ukrainian side to claim victory.

Read the full story here.

Finland will provide 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 cartridges for attack rifles, 1,500 single-shot anti-tank weapons and 70,000 combat ration packages to Ukraine, the Finnish government said in a news release on Monday.

“The situation in Ukraine is extremely difficult because of Russia's military attack and there is an immediate need for defense [material],” the statement said.

The country announced on Sunday that it would send bulletproof vests, composite helmets and first aid equipment to Ukraine.

China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun called on parties to exercise restraint, step up diplomatic efforts, and notably said he supports the European Union, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia resuming dialogue including the “legitimate” security concerns of all, including Russia.

“The Cold War has long ended,” he told the General Assembly hall, and “the Cold War mentality” he said “should be abandoned.”

“Nothing can be gained from stirring up a new cold war, but everyone will stand to lose,” Jun said.

Of the situation in Ukraine, Jun said it has “evolved to a point which China doesn’t wish to see” and is “not in the interest of any party.”

“The immediate priority is for all parties to exercise restraint, prevent further worsening of the situation, while stepping up diplomatic efforts aiming for a political solution," he said.

He also welcomed the start of direct talks between delegations. He said Ukraine should serve as a bridge of communication between east and west, rather than a frontline

He reiterated that the safety of civilian life and humanitarian needs should be guaranteed.

Shell said on Monday it plans to exit its equity partnerships with Russian state energy giant Gazprom in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to a statement, Shell intends to exit its joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities, including its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50% stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture. The company will also end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, the statement added.

“Our decision to exit is one we take with conviction,” he said adding that “We cannot — and we will not — stand by. Our immediate focus is the safety of our people in Ukraine and supporting our people in Russia. In discussion with governments around the world, we will also work through the detailed business implications, including the importance of secure energy supplies to Europe and other markets, in compliance with relevant sanctions.”

At the end of 2021, Shell had around $3 billion in non-current assets in these ventures in Russia, according to the company.

“We expect that the decision to start the process of exiting joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities will impact the book value of Shell’s Russia assets and lead to impairments,” said Shell in the statement.

The UK foreign office has advised against all travel to Russia, according to updated travel guidance published Monday. 

The foreign office said they have updated their guidance due to "the lack of available flight options to return to the UK, and the increased volatility in the Russian economy."

British nationals already in Russia should "be aware that it may not be possible to fly directly to the UK, or via EU countries," and they are advised to amend travel plans accordingly, the advisory added.