Russia attacks Ukraine: Pentagon: No leak of radioactive material

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its ninth day, a fire broke out at a nuclear plant after Russian troops fired on the area.

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Security camera footage filmed on Friday and verified by The New York Times showed a building on fire inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex in southern Ukraine. The videos appeared to show people in vehicles firing at buildings in the power plant, according to the newspaper.

The attack prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to warn of a dire threat after Europe’s largest nuclear power plant came under attack.

“If there is an explosion – that’s the end for everyone. The end for Europe. The evacuation of Europe,” Zelenskyy said, according to The Associated Press. “Only urgent action by Europe can stop the Russian troops. Do not allow the death of Europe from a catastrophe at a nuclear power station.”

Here are the latest updates:

More news outlets suspend, adjust work in Russia after Putin signs law targeting reporters

Update 11 p.m. EST March 4: Officials said CBS News and ABC News are joining other networks in suspending reporting from Russia after the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, signed a law imposing a 15-year jail term for people determined to be intentionally spreading “fake” information about the war in Ukraine, according to multiple reports.

In a statement obtained by BBC News, officials with CBS News said it was suspending its broadcasts from Russia in light of the new media law. A spokesperson for ABC News also said in a statement obtained by CNN that the new law prompted officials to stop broadcasting from Russia.

Officials with The Washington Post said late Friday that they would withhold bylines and datelines produced by its reporters in Russia to protect them.

Previously, the Canada’s CBC announced plans to temporarily suspend the network’s on-the-ground reporting. Officials with BBC News, CNN and Bloomberg News similarly announced plans to pause reporting in response to the law.

Putin formally signed the law Frida, hours after it was drafted by Russia’s upper house of parliament, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s TASS news agency.

Zelenskyy to speak to U.S. senators

Update 10:25 p.m. EST March 4: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will talk to U.S. senators on a video conference call Saturday morning, according to a person familiar with the invitation from the Ukrainian embassy.

All senators are invited to the call, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss the private invitation. The meeting will be the first time lawmakers have talked to the Ukrainian president since Russia invaded his country.

The call will come as Congress is considering a request for $10 billion in emergency funding, with money going toward humanitarian aid and security needs in the war-torn country. Approval could come as soon as next week.

International Gymnastics Federation bars Russian, Belarusian athletes from competitions

Update 9:45 p.m. EST March 4: The International Gymnastics Federation on Friday announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials will be barred from participating in its competitions and those sanctioned by it beginning Monday.

The ban will be in place “until further notice,” officials said.

The announcement came following a meeting Friday of the International Gymnastics Federation’s executive committee.

“This means that athletes and officials from these two federations will not participate in the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan from 10 to 13 March 2022,” officials said in a statement. They added that the decision was aimed at “preserving the integrity of gymnastics, the safety and integrity of members and all athletes and participants, and at fighting against all forms of violence and of sports injustice.”

More than 1.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine, UN says

Update 8:05 p.m. EST March 4: Since Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine on Feb. 24, more than 1.2 million people have fled the country, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

A majority of refugees -- nearly 650,000 people -- have ended up in Poland, according to UNHCR. Almost 145,000 people have fled to Hungary while about 111,000 have ended up in other European countries.

Officials estimate that as many as 4 million people might flee from Ukraine in the coming weeks and months.

Luxury brands temporarily closing stores in Russia

Update 7:30 p.m. EST March 4: Luxury brands including Hermes and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton are temporarily closing stores in Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement posted online, officials with Hermes said they were “deeply concerned by the situation in Europe at this time.”

“(It’s) with regret that we have taken the decision to temporarily close our stores in Russia and pause all our commercial activities from March the 4th evening,” the statement read. “We will continue to stand by our local times.”

A spokesperson for LVMH said the company’s estimated 120 stores across Russia would be closed effective Sunday “given the current circumstances in the region,” according to The New York Times.

>> Related: Companies are pulling out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Here’s a list

Zelenskyy accuses NATO of allowing bombings

Update 6:35 p.m. EST March 4: In a bitter and emotional speech, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it will fully untie Russia’s hands as it escalates its attack from the air.

“All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity,” he said in a nighttime address. “The alliance has given the green light to the bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages by refusing to create a no-fly zone.”

On Friday, NATO refused to impose a no-fly zone, warning that to do so could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia.

“All that the alliance was able to do today was to pass through its procurement system 50 tons of diesel fuel for Ukraine. Perhaps so we could burn the Budapest Memorandum,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the 1994 security guarantees given to Ukraine in exchange for the withdrawal of its Soviet-era nuclear weapons.

“You will not be able to pay us off with liters of fuel for the liters of our blood, shed for our common Europe.”

He said Ukrainians will continue to resist and have already destroyed Russia’s plans for a lightning invasion “having endured nine days of darkness and evil.”

“We are warriors of light,” he said. “The history of Europe will remember this forever.”

CNN to stop broadcasting in Russia; Bloomberg News suspending reporting in the country

Update 5:30 p.m. EST March 4: Officials with CNN and Bloomberg News announced changes to its operations in Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement shared by CNN’s chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, a spokesperson for the news network said the company “will stop broadcasting in Russia while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward.”

John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, said Friday that the company “decided to temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia” after the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, signed a law criminalizing independent reporting in the country.

“The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country,” Micklethwait said, according to Bloomberg.

Vice President Harris traveling to Poland, Romania

Update 4:40 p.m. EST March 4: Vice President Kamala Harris will travel next week to Warsaw, Poland, and Bucharest, Romania, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The vice president will visit Poland and Romania from March 9 to March 11, according to a statement released Friday by deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh.

“Her visit will demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO Alliance and U.S. support for NATO’s eastern flank allies in the face of Russian aggression,” Singh said. “It will also highlight our collective efforts to support the people of Ukraine.”

During her trip, Harris will meet with the leaders of Poland and Romania to “advance our close coordination in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”

Facebook blocked in Russia

Update 3:25 p.m. EST March 4: Russia has now blocked Facebook as the country tries to control the messages that are being shared and limit dissent about the Ukraine invasion. Further restrictions could follow on platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, The New York Times reported.

Russia’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor said the reason for the block on Facebook was for 26 cases of discrimination on Russian media, specifically Zvezda, RIA, Russia Today and Sputnik among others, according to the Times.

Facebook’s parent company Meta responded.

Meta president Nick Clegg saying the company is doing “everything we can to restore our services,” CNN reported.

So far only Facebook is impacted, not Meta’s other producs like Instagram and WhatsApp.

Pentagon: No leak of radioactive material; deconfliction line established between U.S. and Russia

Update 2:55 p.m. EST March 4: U.S. military officials said there has been “no leakage of radioactive material” from teh Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

But Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said he cannot say that the status of the plant’s operation is or who has control of it, CNN reported.

The Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are working together to monitor the situation.

“Attacking a nuclear power plant is exceedingly dangerous and could have visited a lot more damage and destruction to the people of Ukraine and perhaps even to neighboring countries had this gone a different way,” Kirby said, CNN reported.

At the same time, Kirby said a deconfliction phone line has been set up between the U.S. and Russia and it’s being manned by the US European Command under Gen. Tod Wolters.

“It’s being administered as a bilateral US to Russia deconfliction level, that’s why it’s being handled out of US European Command headquarters and not Gen. Wolters under his NATO hat,” Kirby said, according to CNN.

People may be trapped in apartment building wreckage after March 2 attack; Ukrainian soldiers show booby-trapped bridge

Update 1:44 p.m. EST March 4: The Ukraininan State Emergency Service said that people may still be trapped among the wreckage of a large apartment building in Borodyanka that was hit by a missile on March 2, CNN reported.

Viktoriya Ruban, an SES spokesperson, said about 100 people may trapped but they cannot give an exact number.

“Rescuers do not have access to these people due to the constant shelling. We are ready to evacuate people as soon as there is an agreement on a ‘green corridor,’” she told CNN.

The town is northwest of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops said a bridge outside of Mykolaiv has been wired to explode to stop the advance of Russian military. The city was bracing for attack and the Ukrainian artillery was already firing on Russians aorund the city, the The New York Times reported.

Vice President Harris to travel to Poland; Ambassador says world ‘narrowly averted’ nuclear catastrophe

Update 1:09 p.m. EST March 4: Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to travel to Poland, CNN reported. She has already spoken with the prime ministers of Poland and Romania this week. She also met with U.S. allies including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Earlier Friday, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the world “narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe” after a fire erupted on the grounds of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, CNN reported.

She called what happened “reckless” and “dangerous” on the part of Russia.

Thomas-Greenfield demanded that Russia to withdraw troops from the nuclear plant to make sure that operators can get to the site and maintain its safety.

“Reliable electricity is vital for the nuclear facility, as are back-up diesel generators and fuel. Safe transit corridors must be maintained,” she said. “Russia must halt any further use of force that might put at further risk all 15 operable reactors across Ukraine – or interfere with Ukraine’s ability to maintain the safety and security of its 37 nuclear facilities and their surrounding populations,” she said.

Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said that the plant is fully operational and there is no threat that the radioactive material could be released, CNN reported.

He also said that the military did not target the plant on purpose, The New York Times reported. Nebenzia says that the Russian troops are beign shot at by Ukrainian militants inside the training building and they responded. He said the Ukrainians set the building on fire.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that“no security or safety systems have been compromised near the reactors themselves,” CNN reported.

Rafael Grossi said he is in contact with Ukraine officials, including the company in charge of the nuclear facility.

Russia passes law criminalizing news coverage Kremlin disapproves of

Update 12:38 p.m. EST March 4: Russian Parliament has passed a law that will make it a crime to cover the invasion of Ukraine in a manner that the Kremlin disapproves, The New York Times reported.

The law will take effect as soon as Saturday and would make calling the invasion a war during a broadcast, social media or news article would be a criminal offense.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament, said that “those who lied and made declarations discrediting our armed forces will be forced to suffer very harsh punishment,” the Times reported.

Many independent Russian media outlets have already shut down before the law was passed and the government is blocking Russian-language media sites that are based outside of the country, the Times reported.

Mariupol has no water or heat

Update 11:34 a.m. EST March 4: The city of Mariupol on the Black Sea has no water or heat. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said food is also limited and is asking for military help, Reuters reported.

“We are simply being destroyed,” Boychenko said.

Ukrainian officials say no concessions will be made

Update 11:12 a.m. EST March 4: Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that while his delegation is aware of “where [Russia] wants to go,” the Ukrainians will not allow concessions on their territory, CNN reported.

Podoliak confirmed both sides were able to come to an agreement for “humanitarian corridors.”

A senior official of the Ukrainian governing party, David Arakhamia, said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not made an official request to sit down with President Vladimir Putin and that more negotiations are needed before the two leaders can meet, CNN reported.

Large explosion seen near Kyiv

Update 10:12 a.m. EST March 4: CNN reported that a large explosion, believed to have been a missile strike was seen in the Chaika area in western Kyiv.

Videos of the attack are appearing on social media showing damage to buildings that have been confirmed by using geolocation by CNN.

It appears that the blast hit a business center surrounded by land and was heard across the city.

Scholz, Putin speak

Update 9:52 a.m. EST March 4: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke an hour by phone Friday, The New York Times reported. Scholz asked Putin to stop all fighting in Ukraine and to allow humanitarian aid into areas where fighting continues.

Putin said there will be more talks with Ukrainian leaders this weekend.

Microsoft to stop selling, servicing products in Russia

Update 9:48 a.m. EST March 4: Microsoft President Brad Smith has announced the company will no longer sell or service its products in Russia.

Smith did not say if it was to comply with sanctions against Russia and he did not respond to requests for comment from CNN.

While it is apparently cutting some ties with Russia, Microsoft is still helping Ukraine when it comes to cybersecurity by responding to “more than 20 cyberattacks against the Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations,” Smith said.

Russia using cluster bombs, NATO says; UN Security Council to meet over nuclear plant attack

Update 9:13 a.m. EST March 4: NATO claims Russia is using cluster bombs to attack Ukraine. Cluster bombs are banned according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, CNN reported.

“We have seen the use of cluster bombs and we have seen reports of use of other types of weapons which would be in violation of international law,” Stoltenberg said.

He said NATO is monitoring the situation.

A cluster bomb is a two-phase explosion with the initial blast followed by multiple smaller bombs contained inside the device that are sent out over a large area.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions treaty banning cluster weapons took effect in 2010, The New York Times reported. NATO forces used similar weapons in Kosovo in 1999 and the U.S. used them in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, according to a Human Rights Watch report and the Times.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting after the attack on the Ukrainian nuclear plant Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Europe, CNN reported.

A fire had started on the plant’s property but it was put out early Friday morning, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator said.

Reuters reported that there was no damage to the reactors.

NATO: no-fly zone not being considered

Update 9:01 a.m. EST March 4: NATO said that a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not being considered, CNN reported. But members of the alliance have agreed to not have NATO planes flying over Ukrainian airspace. There also will not be NATO troops in Ukraine.

European Council President Charles Michael said that a no-fly zone over the country would be “one step too far” and a “real risk of escalation and a real risk of a possible third international war.”

NATO has, however, sent its Response Force for the first time and has 130 jets on high alert and more than 200 ships deployed nearby to protect NATO countries.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemns Russian shelling of nuclear plant

Update 8:16 a.m. EST March 4: Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Friday issued a statement condemning Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“As a result of the shelling on the territory of the nuclear power plant, a fire broke out, killing and injuring several people. The fire has now been extinguished,” the statement read in part.

The ministry said Russian troops are in control of the facility, but employees are still monitoring the conditions there.

“Russia has consciously undertaken an armed attack on the nuclear power site, an action that violated all international agreements within the (International Atomic Energy Agency), in particular the IAEA Charter, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the Convention on Nuclear Accident Warning and the Convention on the Protection of Nuclear Accidents and the Convention of Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Nuclear Material,” the statement continued. “The shelling of the Zaporizhzhya NPP is also a gross violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.”

Ukraine calls for special tribunal to judge Putin

Update 7:48 a.m. EST March 4: Ukraine is calling for a special criminal tribunal to judge Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s invasion, according to The Associated Press.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also backs the measure, said Russia’s “act of aggression ... cannot go uninvestigated, unprosecuted and unpunished,” the AP reported.

Although the International Criminal Court is investigating war crimes allegations against Russia, the court said Russia never signed onto an ICC statute prohibiting “crimes of aggression,” according to the AP.

Japan sends defense supplies to Ukraine

Update 7:31 a.m. EST March 4: Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said his country is sending defense supplies, including bulletproof vests and helmets, to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

According to The Associated Press, Japan rarely sends defense supplies to nations in conflict.

Matsuno said Russia’s invasion is “unallowable” and “shakes the foundation of international order,” the AP reported.

“International society is sticking together and taking unprecedented steps to support Ukraine,” he said.

UN group votes to create expert panel to monitor human rights in Ukraine

Update 7:19 a.m. EST March 4: The United Nations’ Human Rights Council voted 32-2 to appoint a three-member expert panel to monitor human rights in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, according to The Associated Press.

Russia and Eritrea voted against the measure, while China was among the 13 nations that abstained, the AP reported.

US Embassy in Kyiv calls attack on nuclear plant ‘a war crime’

Update 6:57 a.m. EST March 4: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv tweeted Friday that Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is a “war crime.”

“It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant,” read the tweet, posted shortly before 6:30 a.m. EST. “Putin’s shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further.”

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher to match up to $3M in donations to Ukraine refugees

Update 6:41 a.m. EST March 4: Celebrity couple Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have announced that they will match as much as $3 million in donations to a fundraiser for people fleeing Ukraine during Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country.

>> RELATED STORY: Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher to match up to $3M in donations to Ukraine refugees

According to People magazine and CNN, the 38-year-old “Black Swan” actress, who was born in Ukraine but has lived in the United States since 1991, and Kutcher, 44, took to social media Thursday to unveil their “Stand With Ukraine” GoFundMe campaign benefiting Flexport.org and Airbnb.org.

“While we are witnessing the bravery of Ukrainians, we are also bearing witness to the unimaginable burden of those who have chosen safety,” Kunis wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Countless amounts of people have left everything they know and love behind to seek refuge. With nothing but what they could carry, these Ukrainian refugees are in need of housing and supplies right away.”

Kunis wrote that Flexport.org “is organizing shipments of relief supplies to refugee sites in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova,” while Airbnb.org “is providing free, short-term housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.”

By early Friday, the campaign had raised more than $3.1 million toward its $30 million goal, according to the GoFundMe page.

3 Ukrainian troops dead, 2 hurt in nuclear plant strike

Update 5:37 a.m. EST March 4: Ukraine’s state nuclear company said Friday that three Ukrainian troops are dead and two others hurt following a Russian strike on a training building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to The Associated Press.

Zelenskyy calls for no-fly zone over Ukraine

Update 5:24 a.m. EST March 4: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine following a Russian strike at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, The Associated Press is reporting.

Although the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency said the strike hit a training facility at the plant, not a reactor, Zelenskyy warned that the attack could have caused a disaster “like six Chernobyls,” according to the news agency.

“The Russian tanks knew what they were shelling,” he said, adding, “This is terror on an unprecedented level.”

Radiation levels have not increased in the wake of Friday’s projectile strike, the IAEA said.

UN atomic agency: Strike at nuclear plant hit training center, not reactor

Update 5:06 a.m. EST March 4: Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency, said Friday that a Russian projectile struck a training center – not a reactor – at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

According to The Associated Press, Grossi said Ukrainians still control the reactor, and no radiation has been released from the site. He also confirmed that a fire sparked by the strike has been extinguished. Two people were hurt in the blaze, he added.

Russia’s lower house passes bill criminalizing spread of ‘fake’ military news

Update 4:26 a.m. EST March 4: The Russian parliament’s lower house passed a bill Friday that would penalize those who spread “fake” information about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine with up to 15 years in prison, The Associated Press is reporting.

The bill is expected to clear parliament’s upper house before heading to President Vladimir Putin for final approval, according to the AP. If approved, the law could go into effect as soon as Saturday, officials said.

Norway, Lithuania leaders condemn Russian shelling at nuclear plant

Update 4:05 a.m. EST March 4: Leaders from Norway and Lithuania on Friday condemned Russian shelling that sparked a blaze at Ukraine’s Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.

According to The Associated Press, Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, called the attack “in line with madness,” while Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda described the incident as “nuclear terrorism” and urged world leaders to respond immediately to “Russia’s nuclear crimes.”

Authorities said radiation did not reach dangerous levels during the blaze, which has been extinguished, the AP reported.

British deputy PM calls Russian attack on nuclear plant ‘reckless’

Update 3:45 a.m. EST March 4: British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is speaking out after Russian fire sparked a blaze at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, according to The Associated Press.

“It was clearly a reckless bombardment of a very sensitive and precarious and dangerous facility,” Raab told Sky News on Friday of the now-extinguished fire at the Zaporizhizhia plant. “And the fact that the Russians kept bombarding it after there was the fire and the Ukrainian emergency rescue team were trying to get to that makes it doubly reprehensible.”

China ‘concerned’ about safety, security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities

Update 3:33 a.m. EST March 4: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is “seriously concerned about the safety and security situation of nuclear facilities in Ukraine” after Russian fire sparked a blaze at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, The Associated Press is reporting.

China “calls on all parties concerned to maintain calm and restraint, prevent further escalation of the situation and ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities concerned,” Wang said, according to the news agency.

Moscow stock exchange closed again

Update 3:10 a.m. EST March 4: The Moscow stock exchange is once again closed for trading, according to CNN.

The exchange, which has been closed all week following Western sanctions on Russia, will stay closed through Tuesday, the news outlet reported.

Australia freezes $33M in Russian funds

Update 2:40 a.m. EST March 4: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Friday that her country has frozen 45 million Australian dollars – or about $33 million U.S. – in Russian funds in an Australian financial institution, The Associated Press is reporting.

Payne did not identify the financial institution or the owner of the funds, according to the AP.

Australia has targeted more than 350 Russians with sanctions, including President Vladimir Putin, the AP reported.

Russian forces take over Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Update 1:56 a.m. EST March 4: Russian forces have taken over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine after a fire was extinguished, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said in a statement on Friday.

The military administration said that operational personnel are ensuring the facility’s safe operation, according to The Associated Press.

Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant extinguished

Update 12:49 a.m. EST March 4: The fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been put out, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said in a statement on Friday.

“At 06:20 a.m. (local time) the fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP training building in Enerhodar was extinguished. There are no dead or injured,” the statement said.

Officials said there was damage to the compartment of reactor No. 1, but it does not affect the safety of the power unit, The Associated Press reported.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Google suspends advertising in Russia

Update 12:45 a.m. EST March 4: Google suspended all advertising in Russia after the country’s internet regulator demanded that the company stop showing what it believed to be ads displaying false information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to The New York Times.

Google said it paused its advertising business in the country, including search, YouTube and display marketing, the newspaper reported.

Boris Johnson will seek UN Security Council meeting

Update 12:37 p.m. EST March 4: The office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will seek an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting after Russian troops in Ukraine attacked a nuclear power plant, The Associated Press reported.

Johnson’s office said the prime minister spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the early hours of the morning.

“The Prime Minister said the reckless actions of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe,” Johnson’s office said in a statement. “He said (the United Kingdom) would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.”

Airbnb suspends operations in Russia, Belarus

Update 12:07 a.m. EST March 4: Airbnb is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus, company CEO Brian Chesky said in a tweet.

Fire at nuclear plant started in training building

Update 12:05 a.m. EST March 4: The fire that broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Friday began in a training building outside the main reactor complex, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Services.

“As of 05:20 a.m. (local time), the State Emergency Service Units responded to the fire at the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant,” SES said in a statement on Telegram, according to CNN.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Photos: Russian invasion into Ukraine enters ninth day Displaced people gather around a bonfire outside Lviv railway station, in Lviv, western Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022. (Felipe Dana/AP)

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