-Here's what you need to know about the Ukraine crisis right now:
HEADLINES
* A week after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said its forces took control the first sizable city on Wednesday, seizing Kherson, in the south, as fighting raged around the country and Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia.
* U.S. President Joe Biden assailed Russian President Vladimir Putin, barred Russian flights from American airspace and led Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a rare display of unity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech dominated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow's invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and airstrikes.
* A U.S. official said a miles-long armored column bearing down on the capital Kyiv had not made any advances in the past 24 hours, frozen in place by logistics problems, short on fuel and food, and perhaps pausing to reassess tactics.
* Russia's defense ministry urged Kyiv residents to flee and said it would strike unspecified areas used by Ukraine's security services and communications. Russia describes its assault on Ukraine as a special operation, not an invasion-seeking territory.
* More than half a million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since the invasion began, most crossing into Poland and Romania. The European Commission proposed granting temporary residence to Ukrainian refugees.
A regional official said* At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, in the last 24 hours. The authorities have said missile attacks hit the city's center, including residential areas and the regional administration building.
* Kyiv's mayor published a video showing the moment when a tall T.V. antenna in the city was engulfed in flames, apparently hit by a rocket.
* France declared an "all-out economic and financial war" against Russia, saying it would collapse the Russian economy as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as this week's first round of negotiations had yielded scant progress.
* Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said his government sees "no desire on the part of Ukraine" to try to find a legitimate and balanced solution.
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MARKETS, SANCTIONS, AND OTHER REACTIONS
* The United States and other member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil reserves to compensate for supply disruptions.
* The Group of Seven major economies will convene a task force to focus on freezing and seizing assets of key Russian elites, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said after a meeting of finance chiefs.
* Some of America's best-known companies, including Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Boeing (NYSE: B.A.), Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Ford, and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), rebuked and rejected Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, under steady pressure from investors and consumers decrying the violence.
* Russia said it was placing temporary restrictions on foreigners seeking to exit Russia's assets. Russian assets went into freefall on Tuesday, with London-listed shares MSCI Russia ETF plunging 33% to hit a fresh record low.
* European Union countries are considering a ban on Russian ships entering their ports after similar moves by Canada and the United Kingdom. The world's biggest shipping lines, MSC and Maersk, suspended container shipping to and from Russia.
QUOTES
* "Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home," Biden said in his State of the Union address. "Putin was wrong. We were ready."
* "Watch what you're saying, gentlemen! And don’t forget that in human history, economic wars often turned into real ones." Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev reacting to French comments about economic war.
