Two weeks after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he is ready to “discuss” and “find compromises” for the status of the Crimean Peninsula and other separatist territories.

Zelensky has once again repeated his plea for the United States and its Western allies to secure his country’s airspace by imposing a no-fly zone. The Ukrainian president also said that he believed US President Joe Biden “can do more” to stop the war.

Despite Zelensky’s plea, Washington and its NATO allies oppose creating a no-fly zone in Ukraine. They say such a move could lead to “full-fledged war in Europe.”

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday has announced a ban on American imports of Russian oil, taking aim at the heart of the Russian economy over the military operation in Ukraine. The announcement came as Western-allied nations work to cut off Russia from the global economy to punish President Vladimir Putin over the military action in Ukraine.

Britain also said on Tuesday that it will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has given a historic virtual address to British MPs. The Ukrainian president pushed for more Western action against Russia and called for humanitarian aid. “Do what you can, do what you must,” he said.

Here are all the latest updates:

Hungary opposes ban on Russian energy

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, has opposed a ban on Russian oil and gas, saying it “would represent a disproportionately large burden” for his country.

“While we condemn Russia’s armed offensive and we also condemn the war, we will not allow Hungarian families to be made to pay the price of the war; and so the sanctions must not be extended to the areas of oil and gas,” he said in a statement.

Ukraine civilian death toll now at 474: UN

The UN human rights office says at least 474 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian attack on the country began.

Another 861 have been wounded, it said, adding that the real figures were likely considerably higher as reports of hundreds of casualties from the towns of Volnovakha, Mariupol and Izium are yet to be corroborated.

“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes,” it said.

US rejects Polish plan for giving Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine

The United States has rejected Poland’s offer to send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US airbase in Germany, saying the proposal raised “serious concerns” for the entire NATO alliance.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the prospect of the jets flying from a US-NATO base “into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance”.

“We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” Kirby said in a statement.

Zelensky praises Biden for banning Russian oil

Ukraine’s president has thanked his US counterpart for his “leadership” in banning Russian oil, calling the decision a “powerful signal to the whole world”.

Poland to donate fighter jets to Ukraine

Ukraine has pleaded for more warplanes, and now Poland said it would give all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US, agreeing to an arrangement that would allow them to be used by Ukraine’s military.

The Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Poland is ready to deliver the jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

“At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities,” it said.

Russia ready to provide humanitarian corridors from Kyiv, other cities

Russian forces will stop firing from 10 am Moscow time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday and are ready to provide humanitarian corridors so people can leave Kyiv and four other cities, the TASS news agency reported, citing a senior Russian official.

Information about corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol will be sent to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, said Mikhail Mizintsev, who heads the Russian National Defence Control Centre.

US House set to pass Russia sanctions bill: Pelosi 

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, has said the chamber is set to pass a Russia sanctions bill later on Tuesday. She said the legislation would support Biden’s decision to ban Russian oil imports.

“Our bill has three major provisions: it will ban the import of Russian oil & energy products into the US, it will take steps to review Russia’s access to the WTO and explore how we can diminish Russia in the global economy & it will reauthorize & strengthen the Magnitsky Act,” Pelosi wrote on Twitter.

Read all the updates from Thursday, March 8, here.

ZZ/