Russian military

Call for evacuation from Donbas; new sanctions; "Bucha is genocide" - The most important highlights of the events in Ukraine for the last 24 hours.

Evacuate "now" - a call to the people of eastern Ukraine

Nearly 300 people are buried in mass graves in the city of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as a result of Russian aggression, reported AFP

The corpses of men in civilian clothes scattered on the streets were encountered by journalists who entered the Ukrainian city after it was reclaimed as a result of fierce fighting with the Russian military, the BBC reported.

Russian forces have launched a massive offensive and probably surrounded the Ukrainian city of Kherson at the beginning of the 6th day of the war in Ukraine.

The claim is believed to be based on Western intelligence, although those fears are not expected to have any impact on Vladimir Putin's decision to order the attack.

European Union countries have agreed to impose a limited package of sanctions on Russia. The UN Security Council also met urgently.

Situation in Donetsk

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— zoranceran (@zoranceran2) February 22, 2022

EU prepares the first package of sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to "keep the peace" in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in a decree recognizing the two republics. In the document, Putin ordered Russia's Defense Ministry to ensure that the armed forces "perform peacekeeping functions" in those territories.

Some airlines canceled flights to the Ukrainian capital and troops there unloaded fresh shipments of weapons from NATO members , as its on Feb. 13 president sought to project confidence in the face of U.S. warnings of possible invasion within days by a growing number of Russian forces.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the representatives of that alliance, in coordination with the United States, sent requests to Moscow, which can be summarized in three areas, concerning NATO-Russia relations, European security and arms control.

Britain has begun withdrawing its diplomatic staff from the embassy in Ukraine amid warnings that the Russian military could invade the country with very short notice.

According to the BBC, officials have explained that there are no specific threats against British officials, but still about half of them will return home.

Russia sent two nuclear-capable strategic bombers on a training mission over Belarus for a second straight day on Nov. 11 in a strong show of Moscow's support for its ally amid a dispute over migration at the Polish border.