Kharkiv under fresh attack, more civilians leave Ukraine

SAVANNAH, Ga. — About 3,800 troops based at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia have been ordered to deploy quickly and bolster U.S. forces in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s been very hectic and stressful, but overall it’s worked out,” Army Staff Sgt. Ricora Jackson said Wednesday as she waited with dozens of fellow soldiers to board a chartered flight at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. The soldiers are from the 1st Armored Brigade of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

In all, the Pentagon has ordered about 12,000 service members from various U.S. bases to Europe, with a couple of thousand more already stationed abroad shifting to other European countries.

The soldiers’ mission overseas is to train alongside military units of NATO allies in a display of force aimed at deterring further aggression by Russia.

Maj. Gen. Charles Costanza, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, said soldiers and their families were told to expect the deployment to last six months, though it could be extended or shortened depending on developments in Ukraine. “There is no intent to have any U.S. service member fight in Ukraine,” Costanza said. “And they know that.”

Russia's government has restricted news organizations and throttled internet services to mislead its people about its attack on Ukraine, the State Department said Wednesday.

The government restricted access to Radio Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd TV, the U.S. said.

It is also "throttling" Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

"Russia is engaged in an unprovoked war on Ukraine. At home, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, and Moscow’s efforts to mislead and suppress the truth of the brutal invasion are intensifying," Price said.

Russian officials have threatened independent media if they use terms that differ from the official narrative, like describing the attack and invasion against Ukraine as an "invasion" or a "war," The Associated Press has reported. 

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has accomplished what four years of hectoring by former President Donald Trump failed to do — persuade Germany to double its defense budget and boost its military contribution to NATO.

And Germany is not the only country that has made a diplomatic U-turn since Putin launched the biggest land war in Europe since World War II, top diplomats say.

“I was talking to my wife and saying that Biden did a good job in uniting the West,” said Ian Kelly, the former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as the nation of Georgia. “She said, ‘No, Putin did a good job of uniting the West.’”

Read the full story here. 

Spotify said Wednesday it has closed its office in Russia indefinitely in response to what the audio streaming platform described as Moscow's "unprovoked attack on Ukraine."

Since July, Russian legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin has obliged foreign social media companies with more than 500,000 daily users to open local offices or be subject to restrictions as severe as outright bans.

Ahead of the March deadline, only a few companies, including Spotify, had complied.

"Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever," Spotify said in a statement.

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.

It also removed all content from state media RT and Sputnik this week in the European Union, the U.S. and other markets around the world, except for Russia, following similar steps by Twitter and Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook.

Spotify said it would match employee donations 2-to-1 to support local humanitarian efforts.

With a massive Russian military convoy moving closer and closer to Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, all eyes are on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his family.

Zelenskyy, 44, has inspired many over the past week with his calls for strength and unity. And his wife, Olena Zelenska, 44, has been speaking out with equal passion.

Zelenska’s exact location is unknown. She is believed to have remained in Ukraine along with her husband and their children, Sasha and Cyril — a risky decision, considering that Zelenskyy has said he is Russia’s “target No. 1” and that his family is “target No. 2.”

Zelenska is drawing widespread praise for her presumed decision to remain in Ukraine and for sharing the realities of the crisis on social media.

Read more about Ukraine's first lady here.

At least 227 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 525 have been injured, the United Nations' human rights office said — but the real toll is "much higher," it said.

The dead include 15 children, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday night. 

The casualties as of midnight Tuesday include only those recorded by the U.N. office. "OHCHR believes that real figures are considerably higher," it said.

Intense fighting in Ukraine has delayed reports, and many other reports are pending corroboration. Most of the casualties were from explosive weapons affecting wide areas, like artillery, rockets and airstrikes, it said.

Ukraine’s state emergency services said Wednesday that since the war began, around 2,000 civilians have died. The agency later walked back that number, calling it “approximate,” as it is unknown how many people are under fire or debris. NBC News has not confirmed the numbers of any deaths.

One million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since Russia invaded last week, the United Nations' commissioner on refugees said Wednesday.

"In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries," High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted Wednesday.

"For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it’s time for guns to fall silent, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided," Grandi said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that the situation in parts of his country was "very difficult" but that "we are resisting the terror."

Zelenskyy made the comments in a video address early Thursday as Russian forces intensified attacks on key Ukrainian cities.

"Even if they entered somewhere, it is only temporary. We will expel them, with disgrace," Zelenskyy said.

The southern city of Kherson, a major port on the Dnieper River and the Black Sea, has been the subject of fierce fighting, and its status was unclear. Its mayor said Wednesday that the city was encircled and pleaded for an open corridor to move in supplies, such as food and medicine.

Zelenskyy said Thursday that "in just a week we broke the enemy's plans, plans that have been building for years." He vowed that Ukrainians would fight, and he said that "every occupier needs to know they won't get anything here, won't conquer anyone."

Zelenskyy said almost 9,000 Russians have been killed. NBC News has not verified those numbers. The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 498 of its service members have been killed and that 1,597 have been wounded.