March 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Sviatoslav Yurash, Ukraine's youngest member of parliament, told CNN on Tuesday he and other Ukrainians were determined to keep fighting Russia's assault on the capital Kyiv.

Life during war: He described life in Kyiv as having changed "immensely," as citizens brace themselves for the Russian attack.

Money, for instance, no longer has any real value during wartime -- meaning people are exchanging goods instead, he said. His neighborhood is quiet and empty, while military recruitment stations are full.

But supplies such as food and ammunition are running low. "Nothing is enough," he said. So he and his team spend their time organizing supplies, distributing food, providing weaponry and medicine, and "trying to be useful in the defense of our capital," he said.

Some of his assistants with military backgrounds are now out in the combat field, leading platoons and helping construct barricades.

US State Secretary Antony Blinken said in a tweet Tuesday he was "appalled" by the missile attack close to the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv.

The Holocaust memorial site was hit by a missile, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday.

"Putin seeks to distort and manipulate the Holocaust to justify an illegal invasion of a sovereign democratic country is utterly abhorrent," said Natan Sharansky, advisory board chair of the site. He added it was "symbolic" that the attack happened where an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people were shot by the Nazis.

Nearly a week since Russia began its invasion, President Vladimir Putin’s troops have occupied several of Ukraine’s border regions and are stepping up attacks on Kyiv.

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South Korea will ban financial transactions with seven major Russian banks and their affiliates as part of its economic sanctions on Russia.

The country’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday released a detailed plan on the sanctions after consulting with the US Department of the Treasury.

The seven Russian banks are Sberbank, VEB, PSB, VTB, Otkritie, Sovcom and Novikom.

The ban will follow the US’ grace period for sanctions, and exceptional transactions will be allowed for agriculture, Covid-19 medication and energy support.

The ministry “strongly recommended” local public and financial institutions stop their investments in Russian government bonds issued after Wednesday.

South Korea will also “immediately” block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payments system as soon as the European Union specifies its detailed plan, the ministry added.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine — and warned of further measures to punish Russia.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, and their private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains," he said.

The US is also closing its airspace to Russian aircraft, joining a number of countries that took similar measures this past week, "further isolating Russia," Biden said.

"Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield — he will pay a continuing high price over the long run," Biden said.

US President Joe Biden sounded an optimistic note in wrapping his first State of the Union address, citing the response of the American people and lawmakers in the House chamber to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a reason to be confident in the face of a critical moment.

In a speech that focused on the war in Ukraine before pivoting to domestic challenges, Biden said the American people are ready for the task ahead of them in keeping the world united in the face of autocracy.

Standing ovation: Speaking to political leaders in Washington, Biden started his State of the Union address by sending a resounding message to the world: The West is united in its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and condemns the Russian leader for his aggression. Near the beginning of the speech, Biden encouraged all in the chamber to show that support with a resounding standing ovation and said the US and its allies have "an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny."

Biden noted that Putin's aggression had only made the world's democracies strengthen their resolve to counter rising autocracies.

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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.   

A missile hit a private maternity clinic near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, according to the Adonis maternity clinic chief Vitaliy Gyrin's Facebook post. 

Gyrin also specifically asked people not to come to the clinic, "Most important is do not come now to get anyone from here. Everyone is in a secure place and in safety. This is for sure."

Gyrin also posted photos on his Facebook page that show the damaged building of the Adonis clinic.

Airstrikes that targeted Kyiv on Tuesday hit the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site in the city, according to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. The memorial is located near the Kyiv TV Tower, which was also damaged on Tuesday.

CNN’s Matthew Chance was interviewing Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky when Yermak advised Zelensky that the Holocaust memorial was struck. The exchange between Yermak and Zelensky was captured by a CNN camera.  

The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Site has since released a statement confirming the remembrance site was struck by Russian forces.

According to a statement, the memorial's Advisory Board Chair Natan Sharansky said:

The statement continues, “We remind the Russian leadership that Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities were last subjected to massive bombing by Nazi Germany during World War II, now they are burning under the blows of Putin's army, under the false and outrageous narrative of 'denazifying' Ukraine and its people.”