Dozens of people fled a surge in fighting on Thursday in a flashpoint area where Ukraine said it had pushed back Russian forces around Kyiv, AFP journalists reported.

Heavy exchanges of shelling could be heard from the commuter town of Irpin on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, and plumes of black smoke rose into the air, an AFP team at the scene

The United States on Thursday announced a fresh wave of sanctions against Russian lawmakers, oligarchs and defense companies in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.

The measures, which involve freezing U.S.-held assets, single out 328 members of Russia's lower house State Duma, and 48 defense companies "that fuel (President

The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was too busy for public appearances, as his absence from view for nearly two weeks prompted questions from journalists.

Shoigu, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, reportedly last appeared in public on March 11 despite his leading role in Russia's military operation in

Sasha, a 26-year-old animal behaviorist from Moscow, had seen a steady improvement in her mental health over the last three years. 

Thanks to her passion for her job and rigorous micro-management of her medication, she was able to build a successful blog with a 27,000-strong audience and shake off a depression that plagued her from 2016-2018. 

All