Russia-Ukraine live updates: Evacuation attempts resume as U.N. says 2 million have fled Ukraine

A day full of “the brightest feelings.” A day to “to wish that your loved ones surround you with attention and warmth.” A day for “sincere words of admiration and gratitude” to wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and girlfriends.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s video message of congratulations “from all my heart” to Russian women on International Women’s Day — one of Russia’s favorite holidays — struck an awkward note, as Russia shells civilian areas in Ukraine, mothers and newborns in a maternity hospital shelter in a Kyiv basement, and Human Rights Watch reports that Russian forces bombarded a road with fleeing civilians for hours Sunday, killing a couple and their two children.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also mentioned International Women’s Day briefly in a speech Tuesday in which he pressed the West to do more to stop Russian “genocide” against Ukrainian civilians. He said he could not congratulate women over the holiday “when there are so many deaths.”

In Putin’s message, he said “we live in difficult times” and pointed to Russia’s “inevitable need to protect our people and our country.” He spoke of “global economic challenges,” implying that the crash of Russia’s ruble and job losses as Western companies pull out of the country were due to widespread problems, rather than a Russian economic crisis triggered by sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

“I would like to address the mothers, wives, sisters, brides and girlfriends of our soldiers and officers who are now in battle, defending Russia during a special military operation,” he said. “You can be proud of them just as the whole country is proud of them and worries about them with you.”

He also revived memories of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, amid Russian propaganda that has recast the invasion of Ukraine as a defensive battle against “neo-Nazis.”

“Even during the most difficult trials of the Great Patriotic War, nothing could prevent the men of Russia from confessing their love to their women, and this love served as a support and inspiration,” Putin said.

The global cosmetics firm Estée Lauder on Monday said it will stop doing business in Russia, the latest in a long and growing list of Western companies cutting ties with the country as a show of support for Ukraine.

In a statement, the company said it is “closing every store we own and operate” in Russia and no longer exporting products to consumers and retailers there in response to “the tragic invasion of Ukraine.”

The company’s latest move builds on its decision last week to “suspend The Estée Lauder Companies’ business investments and initiatives in Russia,” the statement said.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the other boycotts launched globally since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

TALLINN, Estonia — For years, Europe’s Baltic states sounded the alarm about the looming threat from Russia and urged NATO to strengthen its eastern defenses.

On Monday, Lithuania’s leader issued another grim warning: Russian President Vladimir Putin may “not stop” in Ukraine.

“Deterrence is no longer enough, and we need more defense,” President Gitanas Nauseda said ahead of talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

“Because otherwise, it will be too late here, Mr. Secretary,” he said. “Putin will not stop in Ukraine; he will not stop.”

Two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion nearly two weeks ago, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Tuesday.

That represents some 500,000 more people than on Sunday, when Grandi called the conflict in Ukraine “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.”

So far, data shows most Ukrainian refugees have sought refuge in neighboring countries, including more than 1 million in Poland alone.

On Monday, Grandi said the outflow of Ukrainians illustrates the need for a “more structured system” for the distribution of refugees in Europe and elsewhere. The European Union has enacted unprecedented measures allowing Ukrainian refugees to live, study and work anywhere within the E.U. for at least a year.

“This is where we need a more structured system in the E.U. and certainly beyond the E.U. [for] … how to share this responsibility,” Grandi said, pointing to Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations.

“I do hope that this, in the end, is the silver lining of this crisis, that Europe understands that any country can become [a] recipient of large numbers of refugees and need the help of others,” Grandi said.

The International Judo Federation removed Vladimir Putin and Arkady Rotenberg, an oligarch with a longtime connection to the Russian president, from “all positions” in the organization.

The federation announced the move Sunday night, and although the federation did not cite the invasion of Ukraine in its brief statement, the move comes a week after Putin had been suspended by the organization as its honorary president and ambassador because of the “ongoing war conflict in Ukraine.”

The judo organization, which has more than 200 national federation members, last month canceled the Grand Slam event in Kazan, Russia, that was set to be held in May. IJF President Marius Vizer said he was “saddened by the current international situation,” although the statement on the cancellation did not directly refer to Russia or Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine — Makeshift roadblocks have been installed throughout this capital to impede the movements of Russian troops snaking toward the city in a convoy about 15 miles away.

On some strategic thruways, Ukrainians have parked trams and buses to restrict driving access. Checkpoints to inspect IDs have also been established to root out would-be saboteurs. “We have a lot of presents” for the Russians, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an interview. “It’s not sweet. It’s very painful.”

The extended 40-mile parade of Russian armored vehicles, tanks and towed artillery headed from the north on a path toward Kyiv has both alarmed and befuddled watchers of this expanding war. It’s not just its sheer size. It’s also because for days, it has not appreciably been moving.

In Kyiv, the approaching convoy has mustered much more inspiration than fear, motivating residents to exact revenge on the Russian invasion in any way they can.

LONDON — British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not going as it had planned and said there had been “large scales” of Russian troops killed in the conflict.

“It’s not going particularly well for the Russians,” Wallace told Britain’s Sky News. “It’s day 13, way off their timetable.”

“Probably the biggest single casualty so far are Russian military soldiers,” he added, “who have been let down by appalling leadership and appalling plans.”

Wallace also said the 40-mile convoy of Russian military vehicles headed from the north toward Kyiv was “still stuck” outside Ukraine’s capital. American officials attribute the apparent stall in part to logistical failures on the Russian side. They have also credited Ukrainian attacks on parts of the convoy with contributing to its slowdown. But they warn that the Russians could regroup at any moment and press forward.

“We can see that the Russians are having real logistic problems, so that affects morale; they’re not getting through, they’re getting more desperate,” Wallace added. “Russia has built itself a trap.”

Wallace also said that Britain was “increasing our support of both lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine,” and that it would offer military support to Ukraine’s neighbor and the U.K.’s fellow NATO member Poland if it decided to provide Ukraine with fighter jets.

“I would support the Poles and whatever choice they make,” Wallace said, but he noted that Britain could not offer aircraft that the Ukrainians would be able to use. “Poland will understand that the choices they make will not only directly help Ukraine, which is a good thing, but also may bring them into direct line of fire from countries such as Russia or Belarus.”

Later on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make a rare address to British lawmakers in Parliament. He addressed the U.S. Congress on Saturday. Wallace said he expected Zelensky’s speech to be “incredibly powerful” and called Ukraine’s president an “amazing guy.”

LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the British Parliament on Tuesday via video, the first time that a speech from a foreign leader will be broadcast directly into the House of Commons chamber.

In previous speeches to Western leaders, Zelensky has struck an emotio