Kyiv, Mar 1 (AP) Satellite photos show a convoy of Russian forces north of Ukraine's capital stretching for 40 miles.

The vast convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks, artillery and support vehicles was 17 miles (25 kilometers) from the centre of Kyiv and stretched for about 40 miles, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies.

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The Maxar photos also showed deployments of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus.

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Washington: Ukraine's ambassador to the US is telling senators her country needs more military weapons as it fights the Russian invasion.

Senators emerged from a Monday evening meeting with Ambassador Oksana Markarova at the Capitol as Congress is preparing supplemental funding to help Ukraine during the crisis. The White House is seeking at least $6.4 billion in military and humanitarian aid.

“They need more arms,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

“It's David versus Goliath,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.

“I think that any human being reading the reports coming out of there realise that this is dire.”

Senators in the US are working to provide ammunition such as anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine -- what Risch called an “all of the above” effort.

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Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian troops have intensified shelling of Ukraine, calling it an effort to force his government into making concessions during talks held Monday.

In a video address late Monday, Zelenskyy says that “the talks were taking place against the backdrop of bombing and shelling of our territory, our cities.

Synchronising of the shelling with the negotiating process was obvious. I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method.”

The president gave no details about the hours-long talks themselves. But he says Ukraine is not prepared to make concessions “when one side is hitting each other with rocket artillery.”

Zelenskyy says that Kyiv, the capital, remains “a key goal” for the Russians and that Russian forces have also shelled the city of Kharkiv with rocket artillery.

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Los Angeles: Ukraine's minister of digital transformation says equipment to use SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service has arrived in his country.

Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the equipment in a Twitter post Monday that was accompanied by a photo of boxes on the back of a truck.

Musk replied with his own tweet saying: “You are most welcome.”

The tech billionaire said over the weekend that Starlink was now “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way. That followed a public request from Fedorov for the service.

Starlink is a satellite-based internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world. It markets itself as “ideally suited” for areas where internet service is unreliable or unavailable.

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Kyiv: Ukraine's president has signed a decree temporarily lifting the requirement for entry visas for any foreigner willing to join Ukraine's International Defense Legion and fight on Ukraine's side against invading Russian troops.

The decree by President Volorymyr Zelenskyy takes effect Tuesday and will remain in effect as long as martial law is in place. (AP) VM

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)