E.U. announces plans to help Ukraine, blocks airspace

 
INA-sources
 
The European Union announced new measures Sunday designed to bolster Ukraine in its fight against Russia, while imposing bans on Russian aircraft and state-owned media outlets.
 
"For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack," European Commission President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen said. "This is a watershed moment."
 
She went on to say that "in another unprecedented step, we will ban in the EU the Kremlin's media machine," citing Russia Today and Sputnik.
 
In the private sector, FedEx and UPS announced they were suspending shipments to Russia, further isolating Russia's economy from the rest of the world.
 
The moves came as Ukraine agreed to talks with Russian officials in neighboring Belarus, after initially rejecting the idea, while Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's nuclear deterrent forces to be on high alert.
 
Fighting continued across Ukraine early Sunday, with the Russian assault appearing to be stymied by the stiffer-than-expected resistance, according to a United States defense official. The area surrounding Kyiv saw fighting and heard blasts and air-raid sirens, while Ukrainian officials claimed they had regained control of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, from Russian forces.
 
Source: NBC News