Russia to Syrians: Come Fight in Ukraine

As Russia's invasion moves deeper into Ukraine, the country is looking to expand its ranks of urban fighters, US officials say. As such, Russia has been recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to come and join the fray, offering $200 to $300 for six months, officials tell the Wall Street Journal. Some are reportedly already in Russia, planning to join the invasion. Chechen forces have also reportedly been deployed to Ukraine. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says 16,000 foreigners have volunteered to fight on his side as well. More of the latest on the Russia-Ukraine conflict:

• Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians were trying to escape to safety when Russian shelling pummeled cities in Ukraine’s center, north, and south, forcing them to take shelter and leave corpses in the streets. Ukraine officials described the failed evacuation efforts in Kyiv’s suburbs as "catastrophic," the AP reports. The number of Ukrainian refugees is now at 1.5 million, “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II" per the UN.
• A third round of talks is planned for Monday. See more of the latest developments at the AP.

• As the Russian government cracks down on what citizens and media outlets can say about the invasion of Ukraine, Netflix and TikTok have suspended most of their services in the country, the AP reports. "In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law," TikTok says in a statement.
• Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are cutting service in Russia; Samsung Electronics is halting product shipments to the country alongside tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Dell; and two of the so-called Big Four accounting firms, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are ending their relationships with their Russia-based member firms.
• The US and its European allies are considering sanctions on Russia's oil and gas exports, or even a complete ban on imports. (And President Biden is reportedly considering a visit to Saudi Arabia as the US scrambles to figure out a replacement plan, should that come to pass.) The Wall Street Journal argues even a US ban on Russian oil imports is likely not enough.
• US and European officials are also discussing plans for a Ukrainian government in exile, should Zelensky have to flee the country, CNN reports.

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)