Ukraine-Russia War: Live Updates – The New York Times

With the war now in its fourth week, Russia is keeping up its siege campaign, even as American and British intelligence officials say its overall offensive has slowed amid heavy losses, logistical problems and an intense Ukrainian resistance. The humanitarian toll also continues to mount.

Major cities including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol are under assault as Russia resorts to destroying cities that it has been unable to seize. Relentless bombardments have deprived urban populations of food, water and heat, and conditions appear to be no better in some eastern cities controlled by Russia, where witnesses have described desolation and ruin.

More than 3.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country, the United Nations says, warning that the number will continue to rise.

The toll on civilians has led President Biden to sharpen his rhetoric and personalize his response to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. This week, Mr. Biden called him a “war criminal” and a “murderous dictator,” prompting protests from the Kremlin.

Here are the latest developments:

• With Mr. Biden scheduled to talk to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, at 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday, Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken warned China against giving military aid to Russia. He said on Thursday that Mr. Biden would “make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression.”

• President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has spent the week delivering video addresses to several Western governments, vowed in an overnight speech to continue seeking increased support. “I feel that we are being increasingly understood, in Europe, in the world, in different countries,” he said. “And it gives us more and more support, which we have been asking for, for so long.”

• Russia called for another emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss its widely debunked allegations that the United States is helping Ukraine develop biological weapons. The American and Ukrainian governments have strongly denied the claims, and the U.N. has said it has no evidence of such programs.

• The United Nations, in an emergency session of its Security Council on Thursday, highlighted widespread human suffering in Ukraine, estimating the number of civilian casualties to be 1,900, with 726 people killed — 52 of them children — since the invasion began. The actual numbers are likely much higher. The Russian ambassador strongly denied that his country’s forces had deliberately attacked civilians.

• The House voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to strip Russia of its preferential trade status with the United States, moving to further penalize the country over its invasion of Ukraine.