LIVE UPDATES: Over 40 Ukrainian Soldiers Voluntarily Laid Down Arms in DPR - Rights Envoy

Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that "all European countries" have agreed to disconnect Russia from SWIFT international payment system.

"Our diplomats fought to ensure that all European countries agree on the decision to cut Russia off from the international interbank network. We also have this important victory. This is billions and billions of damages to Russia," he said in a recorded public address.

Morozova confirmed that all Ukrainian soldiers who had voluntarily surrendered can return

The fact that civilians are being dragged into fighting by nationalists will inevitably result in accidents and deaths, the ministry added.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Twitter to thank Turkish President Recep Erdogan “for strong support,” saying the “ban on the passage of Russian warships to the Black Sea and significant military and humanitarian support for Ukraine are extremely important today.”

The Russian State Duma Chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that when he and his colleagues were returning from Cuba to Moscow on Friday, their plane had to change its route after Finland and Sweden closed their airspace for Russian airlines. This happened despite the fact that the route had been approved in advance. The flight lasted 45 minutes longer, he added.

Transport ministers of the Baltic countries decided to close their airspace to Russian airlines, with the Lithuanian government set to consider the project of the ban on Saturday evening, Lithuanian Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said.

"There is a fundamental decision agreed by transport ministers of the Baltic States... The [Lithuanian Transport] Ministry presented a draft government decision, the meeting is scheduled tonight. The airspace of all the Baltic countries will be closed. For now, this is not the case in any country yet, but this is only a matter of hours," Skuodis wrote on Facebook.

Dmitry Lyskov, the spokesman for Kaliningrad's regional government, told Sputnik that the local authorities are concerned about the intention of the Baltic countries to close their airspace to Russian aircraft, but there will definitely be no air blockade of the region. He stressed that residents of Kaliningrad will have to fly through neutral waters and Russia's Leningrad region, if Lithuania closes its airspace for Russian airlines.

Earlier in the day, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland have announced their decision to close the airspace to Russian airlines amid Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. In addition, Romanian government spokesman Dan Carbunaru said that Bucharest also intended to suspend flights of Russian airlines by the end of the day.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and told him that further escalation of the situation in Ukraine was in no one's interest, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported on Saturday.

According to the broadcaster, Cavusoglu urged Moscow to cease its military operation in Ukraine.

The restrictions concern any flights to airports in Russia or through Russian airspace. Flights from these countries may be carried out only under authorization from Rosaviatsiya or the Russian Foreign Ministry.

As the Russian Armed Forces successfully complete combat missions during a special military operation, an increase in the number of fake stories about the matter has been noted, the press service of the Russian Defence Ministry reported.

According to Naftogaz, the refinery will resume work once the situation stabilises. Shebelinsky is one of the two refineries that are currently in operation in Ukraine.

The mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said that the curfew in Kyiv will be in effect from 5.00 pm to 08.00 am until the morning of 28 February, all civilians who will be on the street during the curfew will be considered saboteurs.

The decision on whether to cut Russia off from SWIFT will be made within the next few days, the media reported earlier, citing the head of one of the central banks in the eurozone.

"It appears that while repelling night-time fire on Ukraine's military infrastructure, a Ukrainian mid-range Buk-M1's missile guidance malfunctioned and a missile accidentally hit the side of a residential building," the source said.

Five civilians were killed, 15 were injured in the Donetsk People's Republic over the past 24 hours as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces, DPR militia spokesman Eduard Basurin said on Saturday.

"Over the past day, we have five dead, 15 injured, this is as for the civilian population," Basurin told Russian broadcaster Rossiya 1.

On Thursday, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for help in countering the aggression of Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

"Sadyr Zhaparov, noting Kiev's responsibility for the failure of the Minsk agreements, expressed support for decisive actions by the Russian side to protect the civilian population of Donbass," the message says.

About 100,000 people have entered Poland from Ukraine over the last several days, Polish Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration Pawel Szefernaker said on Saturday.

"From the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine until today, along the entire border with Ukraine, 100,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine to Poland," Szefernaker told reporters.

On Thursday, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for help in countering the aggression of Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.

"We know for certain that the nationalists are actively mining not only critical facilities, but also the residential buildings of the civilian population," the statement said.

Ukrainian forces shelled Gorlovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, firing 8 shells with a prohibited caliber of 152 mm, according to the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire (JCCC).

European applications for the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine remain at the maximum level, while Russia’s Gazprom refrained from booking gas transit capacity of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, according to data from Gas Transportation System (GTS) operators.

According to the Ukrainian GTS Operator company, applications to pump gas from Russia amounted to 109.5 million cubic meters on Friday, reaching the highest level in 2022. On Saturday, applications amounted to 108.1 million cubic meters. The figures indicate the maximum volume of supplies within the framework of the company's contractual obligations, which is 109 million cubic meters.

Russian gas transit has been on the rise since Monday, when it stood at about 50 million cubic meters. Experts told Sputnik that the growth in supplies via Ukraine may be attributed to the nervousness of European purchasers amid increased political risks, as well as the desire to buy gas in advance for future use.

The Yamal-Europe gas pipeline's capacities remain unclaimed by the Russian company. According to German gas operator Gascade, Gazprom partially booked its capacities for the period from 14:00 GMT on Friday to 05:00 GMT on Saturday. Reverse deliveries stopped at 14:00 GMT, while direct supplies began at 21:00 GMT and continued until 05:00 GMT.

French President Emmanuel Macron is convening a meeting of the country's Defence and National Security Council on Saturday evening to discuss the situation in Ukraine, French broadcaster BFMTV reported, citing the Elysee Palace.

According to the broadcaster, the meeting of the council will be held at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

Sputnik Moldova's editorial office announced that as of Saturday morning, three versions of its website - in Moldovan, Russian and Romanian - are blocked in the country.

A kindergarten building was damaged in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces, the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime (JCCC) said on Saturday.

"As a result of night shelling by the Ukrainian armed formations, it was recorded... Municipal pre-school educational institution №251 - windows and doors were damaged," the representative office said in a report.

"Over the past 24 hours, 7 civilians were killed and 15 civilians were injured in the LPR and the DPR in shelling by the Ukrainian armed formations, according to the reports of the JCCC [Joint Center for Control and Coordination] of the LPR and the JCCC of the DPR," Miroshnik wrote on his Telegram channel.

Nathaniel Gleicher, the head of the Facebook security policy, said on Saturday that the social network would ban Russian state media from running ads and monetizing the platform over the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

"We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world. We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend," Gleicher wrote on his Twitter page.

"(2) The authority under section 506(a)(1) of the FAA to direct the drawdown of up to an aggregate value of $350 million in defence articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown," the statement added.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Alexey Arestovych, the adviser of the head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, has expressed a hope that tomorrow in the morning, it will be clear when and where the negotiations on the cessation of hostilities with Russia will take place.

"So far, there are no details, except for the fact itself - Zelensky agreed to negotiations with Russia. According to my information, tomorrow in the morning, I think it will be clear when and where they will take place. Whether the Israeli prime minister will agree to become a mediator is not clear yet," Arestovych told the Strana.ua news outlet.

"We will be imposing sanctions on President Putin and his fellow architects of this barbaric war, his Chief of Staff and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," Trudeau said on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian troops have entered the Ukrainian city of Melitopol without resistance, where they were welcomed by local residents, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"On February 25, after the sea-borne landing near the settlement of Azovske [Ukraine], the Russian troops carried out a march and entered Melitopol without resistance," the ministry said in a statement.

"During the movement [of the Russian troops] within the city, residents of Melitopol welcomed Russian troops. Some elder residents went to the streets with red flags," the Defense Ministry added.

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China believes that with NATO's progressive eastward expansion, Russia's legitimate security demands should be given due weight, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

"With five successive rounds of NATO's eastward expansion, Russia's legitimate security demands should be taken seriously and properly addressed," the diplomat said.

Regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening and expanding military blocs, Wang said.

He stressed that legitimate security concerns of all countries should be respected.

"Following the decision to suspend the Russian Federation’s rights of representation in the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly is to hold an extraordinary plenary session in hybrid mode on 14 and 15 March 2022 to discuss Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine and the Council of Europe’s response," the statement reads.

The meeting of the Assembly's Standing Committee, which was scheduled to take place on March 11, 2022 in Berlin, has been postponed to a later date.