(Reuters) Russia's advance on Kyiv has made scant progress, and Ukrainian forces still held Kharkiv and several other cities under attack, British military intelligence said, a day after Moscow said it had captured the Black Sea port of Kherson.
The invasion of Ukraine was denounced by the United Nations in a historic vote, as global brands exited Russia and the rouble hit record lows.
* Russia's advance on the Ukrainian capital has made little progress over the past three days, and the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands, according to British military intelligence.
* Russian shelling and attacks on civilian populations killed 34 civilians in the Kharkiv region in the past 24 hours between March 2-3, the emergency services said.
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Moscow is continuing contact with Washington, mostly through embassies, and believes talks with Ukraine in Belarus can produce results but has warned the West against further escalating tensions. Domestic news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.
* Pro-Russian forces may launch targeted strikes on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol unless Ukrainian forces there surrender, the Interfax news agency quoted a Donetsk separatist commander as saying on Thursday.
* The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine, following a request to do so by 39 of the court's member states.
* Top Japanese automakers, including Toyota, were forced to halt production in Russia as sanctions scrambled logistics and cut supply chains.
* A Ukrainian delegation has departed for the second round of talks with Russia, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.
* More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine since the fighting began, most crossing into Poland and Romania.
* French bank Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY), SOGN.PA. on Thursday said its exposure to Russia stood at 18.6 billion euros and that it could cope if stripped of Russian assets.
* The European Union and the United States imposed new sanctions on Belarus for its supporting role in the invasion.
* Russian businessman Roman Abramovich said he would sell London's Chelsea Football Club and donate money from the sale to help victims of the war.
* A Russian-run online store on Chinese e-commerce platform J.D. (NASDAQ: J.D.).com thanked Chinese shoppers for their support after it sold out of most items, including chocolate and fabric softener, which showed the country's friendship in "difficult" times.
* "Russia is increasingly an economic island....Nothing is off the table in terms of future sanctions," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
* "There were armed visitors in the city executive committee today," Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said in a statement. "My team and I are peaceful people - we had no weapons and there was no aggression from our side... I didn't make any promises to them... I just asked them not to shoot people."
