As the Russia-Ukraine war entered its eighth day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed Thursday the country will be rebuilt and said Russia would learn about "reparations."
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"Even if you destroy all our Ukrainian cathedrals and churches, you will not destroy our faith, our sincere belief in Ukraine and God, belief in people," he said. "We will rebuild every single house, every single street, every single city. And we are telling Russia – learn the words 'reparations' and 'contributions'. You will pay back fully to us for what you've done against our state, against our every single Ukrainian."
Throughout the day, international companies and organizations kept pulling out or curtailing operations in Russia, the BBC reported.
H&M announced it was ceasing all sales in the federation, which includes 155 stores. The World Bank said it was halting all programs in Russia and Belarus immediately. The bank had already decreased operations after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Already on Wednesday, Spotify said it was closed its office in Russia indefinitely in response to what the audio streaming platform described as Moscow's "unprovoked attack on Ukraine."
Spotify said it has reviewed thousands of pieces of content since the start of the war and restricted the discoverability of shows owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media. Earlier this week, it also removed all content from state media RT and Sputnik from Spotify in the European Union, the US, and other markets around the world, except for Russia, following similar steps by Facebook and Twitter.
As sanctions against Russia continued to mount, so did aid for Ukraine.
A Hercules C130 transport aircraft with some 2,000 anti-tank missiles for Ukraine took off on Thursday afternoon from Norway. The weapons are to help Ukrainian forces resist Russian troops.
Norway's national news agency NTB said the shipment was being sent from Oslo on Thursday to a third country before being transported to Ukraine.
Germany's economy ministry approved sending 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, the dpa news agency said.
The agency quoted unnamed Economy Ministry officials saying the weapons are Soviet-made, shoulder-fired Strela surface-to-air missiles left over from East German army supplies.
Germany reversed its previous refusal to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons last week, following Russia's attack.
Meanwhile, every decision Israel makes with regard to the Russian incursion of Ukraine is based on the principle of not standing out, an Israeli official told Israel Hayom Wednesday.
"We lag behind and do so intentionally," he said. "This is not an event in which we need to lead. Israel has its considerations, and it should act based on them, and not [based] on external pressures."
However, it is precisely the Ukrainian and Russian presidents that continue to stress Israel's importance in the matter. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held back to back phone calls with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office, although no details were given as to the content of the conversations.
Earlier on Wednesday, Zelenskyy posted a Hebrew-language post on social media, asking world Jewry to speak out in support of Ukraine after a Russian missile strike damaged the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial on the outskirts of Kyiv, where Nazi occupiers had killed more than 33,000 Jews over just two days in 1941.
"I appeal now to all the Jews of the world – don't you see what is happening? Therefore, it is very important that millions of Jews around the world do not remain silent now. Because Nazism was born in silence. Speak up against the killing of civilians!"
Bennett has refrained from condemning the bombing, saying "it is a sensitive matter."
With regard to the war, he said, "The situation could become much worse. Israel stands with the people of Ukraine and we are determined to do more."
In related news, the House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution "steadfastly, staunchly, proudly and fervently" in support of Ukraine.
Lawmakers said on Wednesday that history was watching the way the world responds as Ukrainians fight to save their Western-style democracy from invasion by Russia. With intensifying urgency, many in Congress said more must be done to help Ukraine and cut off Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to wage war.
In the Senate, Lindsey Graham was also introducing a resolution that would back Ukraine's claim in international court that Putin and his "cronies" have committed war crimes.
"The camera of history is rolling on all of us today," Rep. Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a House floor debate.
Meeks urged his colleague to provide a unanimous vote to overwhelmingly show "whether or not we stood up and stood out to protect freedom."
The resolve comes after the blue and yellow colors of the Ukraine flag were on view in the House chamber for President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech Tuesday night, a display of bipartisan common ground for the often divided Congress.
While resolutions do not carry the force of law, Congress is working quickly to produce a supplemental funding package of at least $6.4 billion of military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Lawmakers warned the war was taking an ominous turn as Russian troops encircled Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities, and citizens took up arms to stop the invasion.
The resolution approved by the House says it "stands steadfastly, staunchly, proudly and fervently behind the Ukrainian people in their fight against the authoritarian Putin regime."
It calls for an immediate cease-fire and the removal of Russian forces from Ukraine, pledges US support for the Ukrainian resistance, and vows to provide "significant additional aid and humanitarian relief to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's aggression."
Only three of the House members who voted were against the resolution: Republicans Paul Gosar of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.
Amid criticism over his vote, Gosar tweeted: "Talk to me when our border is secure." Along a similar line, Rosendale has proposed banning aid to Ukraine until the US-Mexico border is secured. Massie, in tweets citing several concerns with the resolution, said its call for additional and immediate "defensive security assistance" could include American boots on the ground or US enforcement of a no-fly zone.
The Senate unanimously approved a similar measure in support of Ukraine last month.
Graham said Wednesday that he is introducing a new resolution to hold Putin and those around him accountable for the assault on Ukraine in international courts.
"Enough of the murder, enough of the destruction and carnage," Graham said Wednesday in a press conference at the Capitol.
Graham said of Putin: "The world has let him get away with too much for too long."
A former military lawyer, Graham is introducing a measure that would back Ukraine's claim in international court of war crimes by Putin. He is joined by Ukraine-born Rep. Victoria Spartz, who has spoken passionately in favor of a US role in saving her country.
Congress largely backs Biden's strategy of economic sanctions against Russia, even as lawmakers push for more. Many want Biden to cut off Russian oil exports to the US as a way to clip Putin's economy and deprive him of resources. Lawmakers of both parties want to send Ukraine more ammunition, anti-aircraft weapons, and other military and relief aid.
