Ukrainian president outraged at Kharkiv bombing as talks begin and Russian convoy nears Kyiv

A massive convoy of Russian ground forces is wending its way closer to Kyiv, drawing within 20 miles of the center of the Ukrainian capital on Monday, a new batch of satellite images showed.

Ukraine asked to join the European Union under a special procedure, according to a video message posted by Zelensky.

Russia was careening toward an economic crisis Monday, with the value of the ruble plunging after several nations severed the Kremlin’s access to its foreign currency reserves in the West and cut off some Russian banks from the international SWIFT financial messaging system.

Washington announced another round of sanctions Monday, effectively prohibiting institutions in the United States from doing business with Russia’s central bank. Sports leagues around the world also announced punitive measures against Russia this week.

Putin this week ordered his nuclear forces to be on alert. Here’s what that means.