• Australia and Japan add sanctions against individuals, banks and government organizations
• US, EU say "war crimes" in Ukraine will be investigated, potentially prosecuted
• Russia changes plans for Security Council session later on Friday

This article was last updated at 10:50 AM IST

Ukrainian historian: 'People just don't believe Kyiv will fall'

A historian with the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian studies at the University of Alberta has explained the determination of so many people in Kyiv to remain, despite the ongoing conflict.

Olha Klymenko is currently in Kyiv, having returned to be with her father, who neither wants to leave the city nor is in good enough health to do so. "He refuses to leave. And this is the case with a lot of people, a lot of my friends," she told DW.

She said there were a number of reasons for this, perhaps they had children fighting with Ukrainian forces, or perhaps they simply refused to abandon their homes.

"There are people who just say: We're going to stay. This is our land. This is our home. We're not leaving. And people just do not believe that Kyiv is going to fall. They believe that Kyiv is going to stand. So I'm staying."

Klymenko spoke from a darkened room on Thursday evening, as authorities had asked residents to keep their lights off to make targeting more difficult for Russian forces.

WNBA working with US government to free Griner as Russia extends detention

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) said on Thursday it was working with the US government to help free seven-time All-Star Britney Griner from a Russian prison.

The development comes after the TASS news agency said her detention for possession of vape cartridges allegedly containing hash oil had been extended until May 19.

Like many WNBA players, Griner has played overseas during the winter off-season for the bulk of her professional career.

Dutch have frozen €200 mln worth of Russian assets

Dutch authorities say they have frozen or seized more than €200 million (more than $220 million) worth of assets from individuals or companies sanctioned in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Netherlands' Central Bank President, Klaas Knot, also said he expected that figure would "rise further."

US Republicans introduce bill to ban Russian uranium

US Republican Senators on Thursday brought forward a bill designed to ban imports of Russian uranium.

The bill comes as the Biden administration ponders sanctions on Russian nuclear power firm Rosatom, a major supplier of fuel and technology to power plants around the world.

WHO says 43 confirmed attacks on health care workers

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it had confirmed 43 attacks on health care workers in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Twelve people died and dozens more were injured in those attacks.

The director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informed the UN Security Council, without specifying who was responsible for the attacks.

"In any conflict, attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law," he told the 15 member states on the Council.

EU condemns 'war crimes' committed by Russia

The European Union has condemned "serious violations and war crimes" committed by Russia in Ukraine.

"The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies' continued targeting of Ukraine's civilian population and civilian infrastructure, as well as their siege of the city of Mariupol," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Ukraine has accused Russia of bombing a theater in the eastern city of Mariupol where hundreds were taking shelter. Mariupol's city hall says some 80% of residential housing in the city has been destroyed. It said it was "clarifying information on victims" of the theater shelling.

"Such deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are shameful, reprehensible and totally unacceptable. They constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law," Borrell said.

"The perpetrators of these serious violations and war crimes, as well as the responsible government officials and military leaders will be held accountable," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov urged EU lawmakers to recognize Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" and step up the bloc's arms supplies to fight Moscow's forces.

US lawmakers vote to suspend normal trade ties with Russia

The US House of Representatives has voted to remove Moscow from the list of "most favored nations" for trade. The Senate is expected to quickly approve the measure, paving the way for President Joe Biden to raise tariffs on Russian imports.

The legislation, which had broad support from Democrats and Republicans, also includes Russian ally Belarus. The two countries will join Cuba and North Korea as the only countries that the US do not have regular trade relationships with.

"Both parties… remain united in sending Putin a clear message: his inhumane violence against the Ukrainian people will come at a crippling price," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The sanction, which follows the announcement of a US ban on Russian energy imports, as well as extensive sanctions on banks, businesses and oligarchs. The IMF has predicted that the penalties will see Russia fall into a "deep recession" this year.

G7 demands aid should enter stricken cities

Members of the G7 group of industrialized nations have demanded that Russia allow humanitarian aid into the besieged port city of Mariupol and other places surrounded by Moscow's forces.

"The Russian leadership has to immediately provide for humanitarian access as well as humanitarian aid to be delivered to Mariupol and other besieged cities," read the statement by the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan Japan and the United States.

The group's members said they would commit themselves to stockpiling and distributing humanitarian aid, as well as making sure that Ukraine's neighbors receive the assistance they need.

Japan and Australia announce additional sanctions against Russia

Australia and Japan on Friday increased the pressure on Russia by placing sanctions on individuals, banks and government organizations.

Canberra imposed sanctions on Moscow's Finance Ministry while adding 11 banks and government organizations, including the central bank, covering the majority of Russia's banking assets along with all entities that handle its sovereign debt.

"With our recent inclusion of the Central Bank of Russia, Australia has now targeted all Russian government entities responsible for issuing and managing Russia's sovereign debt," Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said it would impose sanctions against 15 individuals and nine organizations, including defense officials and state-owned arms and dual-use technologies exporter Rosoboronexport.

The sanctions, which include asset freezing, are the latest in a series of measures by Tokyo since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia won't call for UN council vote on its Ukraine resolution

Russia announced it will not call for the UN Security Council to vote Friday on its draft resolution on humanitarian relief for Ukraine, which has been criticized for making no mention of the Kremlin's invasion of its neighbor.

The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, announced the change of plans in a separate session on Thursday called by western countries.

It will instead use the scheduled council session to repeat allegations that the United States has biological warfare laboratories in Ukraine.

Washington has denied these claims, in turn alleging that they are part of a potential "false-flag operation" by Moscow.

American soldiers alive, despite Russia claims, says US

Three current and previous members of the Tennessee National Guard were falsely identified as being killed in a Russian media report.

They are in fact alive and well, the Tennessee National Guard said on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of American troops from Ukraine ahead of Russia's invasion of the country.

But a report published in Russia's Pravda newspaper identified three Americans as being dead and gave military ranks for each of them, citing information from pro-Russian militia in Ukraine's Donetsk.

The story even offered a detailed explanation for how the three were identified, using items from a backpack "near the remains of one of the militants." Among the items was a Tennessee state flag, the report claimed.

"The Tennessee Guard is aware of the fake news coming out of Russia," said Tracy O'Grady, a spokesperson for the larger US National Guard.

The Tennessee Guard said in a statement: "They are accounted for, safe and not, as the article headline erroneously states, US mercenaries killed in Donetsk People's Republic."

Zelensky: Russia surprised by our determination

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had been surprised by the resistance it has been met with since it began its invasion.

"This is our defense," he said in his nighttime video address to the nation. "When the enemy doesn't know what to expect from us. As they didn't know what awaited them after February 24," the day Russia invaded. "They didn't know what we had for defense or how we prepared to meet the blow."

He said Russia expected to find Ukraine much as it did in 2014, when it seized Crimea without a fight and backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region. But Ukraine is now a different country, with much stronger defenses, he said.

Summary of Thursday's events in Ukraine-Russia crisis

The EU said that potential "war crimes" in Ukraine would be investigated and prosecuted, joining top US figures in labeling Moscow's actions thus.

The search for survivors continued at the Mariupol theater, which was bombed on Wednesday, with Ukrainian lawmaker Dmytro Gurin telling DW that the attack was "deliberate."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Bundestag, telling the German parliament that "help came too late to stop war." He also criticized the German government over its economic ties with Russia.

Local officials said shelling of the town of Merefa, outside the city of Kharkiv, killed at least 21 people and injured 25.

Bilateral talks also continued between Russia and Ukraine, albeit with neither side saying very much publicly on Thursday.