Thread by @fulelo

Ukraine news from @bbcworldservice at 7 AM GMT on 6. March - for ways to listen viz embedded tweet, pls.

The White House says President Biden is working to secure additional funding for Kyiv, following a telephone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodomyr Zelensky. (cont.)

https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice/status/1499031508660756482

US economic, humanitarian and security assistance will be increased if voted for by Congress. Mr Biden is trying to secure ten billion dollars in emergency funding to respond to the crisis. The two leaders also discussed a possible extension of the sweeping economic sanctions

imposed on Russia. Those already in place have been sharply criticised by President Putin, who likened them to a declaration of war. Mr Biden has also welcomed the decision by the payment firms, Visa and Mastercard, to suspend their services in Russia.

Mastercard said it would no longer support cards issued by Russian banks while cards issued outside the country would not work at Russian merchants or ATMs. Visa said it would cease all transactions in Russia in the coming days. But Russia's biggest lender,

Sberbank, says the sanctions will not affect users of the cards it issues in Russia. These are the last major US firms to join the business boycott of Russia sparked by the invasion.More intnl companies, incl Puma and
Inditex, are temporarily closing hundreds of shops in Russia

Russian artillery has continued to pound towns and cities in Ukraine, as the invading forces seek to capture more ground. The town of Irpin, northwest of the capital, Kyiv, came under heavy fire on Saturday, forcing a steady stream of people to flee, taking only what they carry.

Some talked of constant shelling by the Russian military as it tries to break through and advance of Kyiv. Towns south of Kyiv are also reported to have come under attack. Further to the east, Moscow says it's advanced by 7 km in Donbass, taking several towns and villages.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will speak to Vladimir Putin on Sunday, as efforts continue to end, or at least scale back, the fighting. Mr Erdogan's spokesman said he would offer to host peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv,

and urge Mr Putin to help set up the humanitarian corridors needed for evacuations of civilians and shipments of aid. Mr Putin on Saturday held his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, hosting the Israeli Prime Minister Nafthali Bennett in the Kremlin.

Mr Bennett also spoke with Mr Zelensky and has travelled to Berlin for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Meanwhile tens of thousands of refugees are continuing to flee Ukraine, seeking shelter in neighbouring countries. More are waiting for transport out of the city of Lviv

Some of those who have reached Poland were visited in the warehouse where they've taken refuge by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. On Sunday he's to visit Moldova, another of the nations hosting Ukrainians. The country's social services have come under acute strain

because of the number of arrivals. Mr Blinken is expected to provide reassurances for Moldova, which has been fractured by a pro-Russia breakaway region, Transnistria. (Some analysts believe it could be used as a staging point in the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine.)

Nearly 300 Russian Orthodox priests, mostly in Russia but some in other countries, are speaking out against the invasion. They've signed an open letter urging an end to what they call the fratricidal war against Ukraine. One told the BBC the war was a crime

and urged Mr Putin to stop before it was too late. Their remarks contrast with those from the head of their church, Patriarch Kirill. He has called for the avoidance of civilian casualties, but (earlier) said people opposing the historical unity between Russia & Ukraine were evil

Britain is proposing a 6 point plan in response to the Ukraine war and is urging other countries to join it. In a statement PM Johnson said that Mr Putin must fail and be seen to fail in his act of aggression, and must not be allowed to rewrite international rules

using military force. The British plan includes mobilising a humanitarian coalition; supporting Ukraine's self-defence; and maximising economic pressure on the Kremlin.