On Tuesday, Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, faced growing isolation as he showed no signs of ending his country's invasion of Ukraine, where fierce fighting and Russian bombardment have killed many people and sparked a refugee crisis.
The Russian invasion, which took place last week, does not appear to have yielded the decisive early gains that President Putin had hoped for.
The Russian president is facing growing diplomatic isolation for launching the largest attack on a European state since World War II, and the systemic impact of Western sanctions caused the rouble to drop by nearly 30% yesterday before central bank intervention rescued it from its lows.
Ceasefire talks held on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough, and negotiators have not stated when a new round will be held.
The US and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia's central bank, oligarchs and officials, as well as the country's top businesses, including Putin's, and have barred some Russian banks from using the SWIFT international payments system.
Turkey, a NATO ally, dealt another blow to Russia on Monday by warning warring countries not to send warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, which connect the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, effectively suffocating Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Fearing an escalation between the world's two nuclear powers, Washington has ruled out sending troops to fight Russia or enforcing a no-fly zone as Ukraine has requested.
However, the US and its allies have pledged military assistance to Kyiv, despite Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's warning that the capital was under constant threat.
"Kyiv is the key target for the enemy," Zelenskyy said in a video message on Monday night.
"They sent saboteurs to us because we didn't let them break the capital's defence... "We'll take out all of them," he added.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia was targeting a thermal power plant that supplies electricity to Kyiv, a city of three million people, as part of a "special operation" in Ukraine.
Human rights organisations and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States have accused Russia of using cluster and vacuum bombs.
Russia has gathered a convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks, and other military equipment that stretches for about 40 miles (64 kilometres) in preparation for a push for the capital, according to US satellite company Maxar.
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