This has been CNBC's live blog covering updates on the war in Ukraine. [Follow the latest updates here.]
Ukraine has announced its first successful mass evacuation of civilians from the city of Sumy. It follows days of halted evacuations all over the country, with Ukrainian officials accusing Russian forces of violating cease-fire agreements and only opening evacuation routes that led to Russia.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Wednesday that the U.S. is "de facto waging an economic war against Russia," after the Biden administration announced a ban on Russian oil imports.
The U.S. State Department said the Kremlin was intentionally spreading false reports of the use of chemical and biological weapons by the United States and Ukraine.
Spokesman Ned Price said it was a false pretext by Russia to justify its own "horrific actions" in Ukraine. The claims have been "debunked conclusively and repeatedly over many years," he said in a statement.
"It is Russia that has active chemical and biological weapons programs and is in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention," he said, adding that Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of crimes itself is committing.
"These tactics are an obvious ploy by Russia to try to justify further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attacks on Ukraine," he said. "We fully expect Russia to continue to double down on these sorts of claims with further unfounded allegations."
— Dawn Kopecki
Russia is likely sending paid mercenaries into Ukraine to help along its invasion of the country, a British government ministry said.
The government of President Vladimir Putin "almost certainly maintains extensive links" with Russian companies that sell mercenary fighting services, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update released Wednesday night GMT.
Russian corporate fighters have been accused of committing human rights abuses in Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic while working on behalf of Moscow, the ministry said.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said last year that Moscow gave security and military services through so-called "private military companies" to the government of the Central African Republic in exchange for the right to extract gold, uranium and diamonds.
Such mercenary services already operated in eastern Ukraine prior to Russia's current invasion, according to the U.S. government.
In 2017, the U.S. Treasury placed sanctions on the biggest Russian mercenary company, PMC Wagner, and its founder, Dmitriy Utkin, for "actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Russian mercenary companies including Wagner "have a poor track record—including operational failures and human rights abuses," CSIS said.
The U.S. Department of Defense said on Monday that Russia is trying to recruit mercenaries from Syria as well.
"We find that noteworthy that [Putin] believes that he needs to rely on foreign fighters to supplement what is a very significant commitment of combat power inside Ukraine as it is," the official said in a briefing.
—Ted Kemp
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday that the U.S. will enforce sanctions on all foreign governments that try to skirt U.S. rules against Russia. Her comments to CNBC's "Closing Bell" came a day after she told the New York Times that the department could take "devastating" action against Chinese companies that continue to export goods to Russia.
While she noted that there is no evidence to suggest that Beijing is violating U.S. sanctions, she doubled down on her promise to crack down on governments and corporations that aid Moscow in violation of the U.S. penalties.
"It's not just Chinese companies," she said. "We are serious about these export controls. We intend to enforce them against any company and any country."
Raimondo also said that the administration continues to focus on developing domestic semiconductor manufacturing to ensure the production of cars, military equipment and medical supplies.
— Thomas Franck
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday that the U.S. will enforce sanctions on all foreign governments that try to skirt U.S. rules against Russia. Her comments to CNBC's "Closing Bell" came a day after she told the New York Times that the department could take "devastating" action against Chinese companies that continue to export goods to Russia.
While she noted that there is no evidence to suggest that Beijing is violating U.S. sanctions, she doubled down on her promise to crack down on governments and corporations that aid Moscow in violation of the U.S. penalties.
"It's not just Chinese companies," she said. "We are serious about these export controls. We intend to enforce them against any company and any country."
Raimondo also said that the administration continues to focus on developing domestic semiconductor manufacturing to ensure the production of cars, military equipment and medical supplies.
— Thomas Franck
The U.S. intelligence community assesses that a transfer of fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine could be viewed as an "escalatory step" by the Kremlin, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
"The transfer of combat aircraft right now could be mistaken by Mr. [Vladimir] Putin and the Russians as an escalatory step," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, referencing a U.S. intelligence report.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon declined Poland's proposal to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 combat aircraft to the U.S. government. The plan would later call for the U.S. to fly the jets into contested airspace in order to deliver the planes to Ukraine.
"At this time, we believe the provision of additional fighter aircraft provides little increased capabilities at high risk. We also believe that there are alternative options that are much better suited to support the Ukrainian military in their fight against Russia," Kirby added.
– Amanda Macias
Editor's note: Graphic content warning. The following photos contain images of Ukrainians preparing weapons and removing casualties in Russia's attack.
Ukrainian citizens have mobilized to help hold off the Russian invasion, doing everything from making Molotov cocktails to preparing equipment and digging trenches.
— Adam Jeffery
Sony will stop selling its PlayStation consoles and software in Russia, becoming the latest major brand to withdraw from the country over the Ukraine war.
The company said it has suspended all software and hardware shipments in the country, including the launch of its new racing title Gran Turismo 7. The PlayStation Store will also become unavailable.
"Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine," the company said in a statement.
A slew of major brands from McDonald's to Coca-Cola are suspending their business in Russia amid outcry over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
— Ryan Browne
European governments that seized the yachts and villas of Russian oligarchs now face a more difficult question: What to do with them?
The sanctions against Russian oligarchs imposed by the European Union, the U.K., the U.S. and other countries unleashed a wave of asset freezes across Europe. Officials impounded a 213-foot yacht owned by Alexei Mordashov in Imperia, Italy, Igor Sechin's 280-foot yacht in the French port of La Ciotat and Alisher Usmanov's $18 million resort compound in Sardinia.
Yet sanctions experts say freezing the assets is the simple part. Deciding what to do with them — and who gets the proceeds — is likely to be more challenging and could touch off court battles that drag on for years.
— Robert Frank
The U.S. and UK hardened their opposition to imposing any form of a no-fly zone in Ukraine, despite Kyiv's pleas for more protection from Russia's invasion.
"Our goal is to end the war, not to expand it," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday during a joint press conference alongside U.K. Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on allies to enact a no-fly zone, which would require shooting down Russian aircraft over Ukraine. Imposing that rule in airspace where Russian planes are already flying would dramatically raise the risk of dragging NATO and the U.S. into direct combat with Russia, which experts fear could precipitate a full-on war between nuclear-armed powers.
"If I were in President Zelenskyy's position, I'm sure I would be asking for everything possible, in his mind, to help the Ukrainian people," Blinken said. But he maintained that putting any U.S. troops in Ukraine, even if on a limited basis, "would expand the conflict."
— Kevin Breuninger
As Ukrainian civilians in the east flee to the relative safety of western cities such as Lviv, and abroad to escape Russia's assault, many military personnel are heading east to help with the war effort.
Two Patriot batteries, capable of targeting incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, have been repositioned in Poland, a senior U.S. Defense official confirmed.
"We're not going to talk about where they are and not going to talk about their operational status, but they are in Poland," the official said, adding that the move took place in close consultation with Polish allies.
"It is a purely defensive deployment being conducted proactively to counter any potential threat to U.S. and allied forces in NATO territory," the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.
– Amanda Macias
People from the Lviv Volunteer Kitchen prepare food and dry rations for the Ukrainian military on the front lines amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A U.S. senior Defense official said about 90% of the Kremlin's combat power remains intact after two weeks at war in Ukraine.
"We assess that they no longer have available to them several 100 vehicles of different stripes and sizes. But whether they've been captured, destroyed, abandoned, we don't have that kind of a breakdown," the official said.
On Tuesday, the same official said that nearly 100% of the troops that were once staged along Ukraine's border are now fighting inside the country and slowly advancing on Kyiv in four lines of effort. The official added that the U.S. has no indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin is pulling troops from other parts of Russia to fight in Ukraine.
– Amanda Macias
A government spending bill the U.S. House aims to pass Wednesday includes $13.6 billion in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine.
The money would go toward assistance to Ukrainians displaced by Russia's invasion, Ukraine's military equipment and U.S. troop deployments to neighboring countries.
Leaders from both parties have backed the aid package as the U.S. tries to bolster Ukraine's defenses and disrupt Russia's economy without sending its own troops to Ukraine.
— Jacob Pramuk
Russian forces inched closer to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, according to a U.S. Defense official.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Russian troops are "just outside the city now."
"They appear to have gained about 20 kilometers (12 miles) worth of distance," the official said. "It's still heavy, heavy fighting there. We don't assess that they've taken the city by any means," the person added.
– Amanda Macias
A U.S. Defense official said Russia has launched more than 710 missiles at Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the missiles are a mixture of short-range and medium-range as well as cruise missiles.
The missiles are being fired from both inside Russia and inside Ukraine. A handful of missiles are being launched from Belarus as well as naval platforms in the Black Sea.
– Amanda Macias
The city council of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine accused the Russian military of deliberately bombing a children's hospital there.
"The destruction is enormous," the city council said in a post from its Telegram account translated by NBC News. The post included a video showing the destroyed exterior of a building surrounded by smoldering rubble.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted shortly after that the bombing in Mariupol was a "direct strike" on the hospital. "Children are under the wreckage," Zelenskyy said in the tweet, which also called on allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine skies.
Russia has claimed it is not attacking civilian infrastructure, but international organizations have accused Vladimir Putin's military of doing just that. News outlets have reported on civilian buildings being targeted.
Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of violating a ceasefire in Mariupol, blocking civilians from evacuating the city.
— Kevin Breuninger
Musicians of the Kyiv-Classic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Herman Makarenko perform during an open-air concert named "Free Sky" at the Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine.
—Adam Jeffery
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has told CNBC that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stopped, Moscow will look to invade other countries, which could trigger World War III.
"One thing is clear: If [Putin] is not stopped in Ukraine, there will be a second Ukraine," Nauseda told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick on Wednesday.
"Maybe Romania, maybe Moldova, maybe some other countries of NATO, and then it will be the start of the Third World War."
He added that he believed NATO's commitment to collective defense was "really sacred," which meant a Russian invasion of NATO territory would mean military conflict between NATO and Russia.
— Chloe Taylor