Kyiv, March 6: Hundreds of men have been lining up in Kyiv to join the Ukrainian army. An order from Ukraine's government prohibited men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country to keep them available for military conscription.

But some like Volodymyr Onysko volunteered to fight. “We know why we are here. We know why we defend our country. And our guys that are actually standing there and fighting Russian military forces,” he told Britain's Sky News. “We know what we are doing and that's why we will win.” Also Read | Russia-Ukraine ‘War’: Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Address Bipartisan Group of US Senators as Vladimir Putin Warns Over Imposing No-Fly Zone.

Others, like British Army veteran Mark Ayres, travelled to Ukraine to help.

Ayres said the Ukrainian people have been inspiring and “it's galvanized everybody.” Also Read | Russia Ends Ceasefire Due to ‘Unwillingness’ of Ukraine, Says Igor Konashenkov.

“I've got no illusions. I've got no romantic ideas of war or like I'm going to be some hero' or make a difference … but it is what I do,” Ayres said.

___

Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.

Blinken says the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty.

The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism. Wang says the U.S. and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO's eastward expansion on Russia's security.

The U.S. State Department says Blinken underscored that the world is acting in unison in response to Russian aggression and ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price.

China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. China says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, but that sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement.

___

Washington: U.S. President Joe Biden has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and to speed U.S. military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine.

The White House said the pair also discussed talks between Russia and Ukraine during the more than 30-minute call early Sunday in Ukraine, but offered no additional details.

Zelenskyy said on Twitter the two presidents discussed security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.

___

Lviv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk for giving Ukraine access to his company's satellite-internet system, called Starlink.

“I'm grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds” Zelenskyy said in a tweet. “Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities.” He joked that they discussed possible space projects, which he would talk about “after the war.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Saturday showed off a shipment of the Starlink systems that had arrived in the capital city. He said Starlink would help secure the work of critical infrastructure and the defense of the city.

Several large Ukrainian cities remained without internet or phone connection after being shelled by Russian troops.

___

Chernihiv (Ukraine): — Russia has dropped powerful bombs on residential areas of the city of Chernihiv, a regional official said Saturday. Vyacheslav Chaus posted a photo of what he said was an undetonated FAB-500, a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) air-dropped bomb.

“Usually this weapon is used against military-industrial facilities and fortified structures,” said Chaus, head of the same-named region of Chernihiv. “But in Chernihiv, against residential areas.”

The city of Chernihiv, located north of Kyiv and with a population of 290,000, has come under heavy fire from Russian forces. Officials said 17 people in the region were killed in the shelling.

A video released Saturday by the Ukrainian government showed people cheering as they watched a Russian military plane fall from the sky and crash.

___

New York: Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies said Saturday, Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any card issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs in the latest blow to the country's financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.

Mastercard said it made its decision after discussions with customers, partners and governments. Visa said it's working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.

The suspensions are a follow-up to more limited moves earlier in the week to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the U.S. government and others.

___

Lviv: Russian forces have intensified shelling in the port city of Mariupol, including with the use of airplanes, the mayor said Saturday night. “The city is in a very, very difficult state of siege,” Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainian TV. “Relentless shelling of residential blocks is ongoing, airplanes have been dropping bombs on residential areas."

Boychenko said that thousands of children, women and the elderly came under fire as they arrived in the morning for a possible evacuation through a safe passage corridor. Russia promised to stop the shelling of Mariupol, a port city of 430,000, and Volnovakha, a city in the east, but violated the cease-fire.

Russia has made significant advances in the south, clearly seeking to cut off Ukraine's access to the sea. Capturing Mariupol, which has been fending off the attack for six days, could allow Russia to build a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

___

Kyiv: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday echoed the president's assertion that Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops. Kuleba also said in a video message released by the Ukrainian government that the Russians had lost dozens of aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles.

The claim could not be independently verified. The Russian military doesn't offer regular updates on their casualties. On Wednesday, military officials revealed a death toll of 498.

“Russians keep bearing devastating losses on the ground, and I cannot understand how mothers, wives and daughters of these Russian soldiers bear this pain, seeing how President Putin sends more and more of their beloved ones to Ukraine,” Kuleba said.

Kuleba added, “Ukraine is bleeding but Ukraine has not fallen and stands (with) both feet on the ground.”

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)