War in Europe

Helmets and flak jackets to be used by first-responders and other civilian agencies, statement stresses.

Funds are being used for housing, clothing, medical and mental health services, life-saving rescue operations, security and transportation for refugees, including those making aliyah to Israel.

US President Joe Biden expected to announce another $800 million military aid package that includes artillery and ammunition.

Zelenskyy says Russia has begun the "Battle of Donbas" in the east. Ukrainian media report a series of explosions, some powerful, along the front line in the Donetsk region, and shelling in Marinka, Slavyansk, and Kramatorsk.

Analysts say fighters from Syria, including Palestinian refugees, are more likely to be deployed in coming weeks, especially after Putin named general who commanded Russian forces in Syria as the new war commander in Ukraine.

"The nightmare of war has caught up with us even in Lviv," says Lyudmila Turchak, who fled with two children from the eastern city Kharkiv. "There is no longer anywhere in Ukraine where we can feel safe."

“Torture chambers are built there,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in an evening address to the nation. “They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says troops in the pulverized port of Mariupol will fight "to the end."

The pontiff urges peace in Europe and other armed conflicts raging in the world and voices concern over the risk of nuclear warfare.

With most Jews unable to attend community seders, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine distributes 50,000 food packages to Jewish households across the country.

Statement from junior ranks of Russian Foreign Ministry says Israel "perpetrating an illegal occupation and annexing Palestinian territories." Israel's diplomatic apparatus thinks Moscow is just blowing off steam.