Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major U.S. firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment," Mastercard said it had "decided to suspend our

Ukraine on Saturday urged the West to amp up military assistance to the besieged country, including warplanes, as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated warnings against NATO.

"The highest demand that we have is in fighter jets, attack aircraft, and air-defense systems," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a small group of journalists

A Russian plane landed at Washington's international airport Saturday to pick up about a dozen diplomats from Moscow's UN mission who are accused by Washington of espionage, authorities said.

The United States closed its airspace to all Russian aircraft after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

The Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft was allowed, however, to land at Dulles

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, forcing residents to flee for their lives and leaving hundreds dead.

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Thursday 24 February

3:45 p.m.: A Ukrainian military plane with 14 people aboard crashed south of Kyiv on Thursday, the emergencies service said.

The service said it