Ukraine's ambassador to the US says Russia used a vacuum bomb on Monday in its invasion of Ukraine.

       Oksana Markarova appealed to members of US Congress for more help as her country resists a "brutal war".

       "They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention," she said.

       "The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large."

       A vacuum bomb uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, typically producing a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than that of a conventional explosive.

       She said Ukraine was working actively with US President Joe Biden's administration and Congress to obtain more weapons and tougher sanctions.

       "They should pay, they should pay a heavy price," the ambassador said.

       The White House reacted coolly to a proposal by Volodymyr Zelensky for a no-fly zone for Russian flights over Ukraine, saying US participation in such a move would be tantamount to a direct conflict with Moscow.

       Follow the latest updates below.

       Australia will provide Ukraine with $50 million in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders.

       Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday elaborated on his country's plans after revealing a day earlier that his government would provide Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with lethal military equipment. Mr Morrison promised only non-lethal military equipment last week.

       "President Zelensky said: 'Don't give me a ride, give me ammunition,' and that's exactly what the Australian Government has agreed to do," Mr Morrison said.

       Australia had committed $50 million to provide both lethal and non-lethal defensive support for Ukraine through NATO.

       "The overwhelming majority of that ... will be in the lethal category," Mr Morrison said.

       "We're talking missiles, we're talking ammunition, we're talking supporting them in their defence of their own homeland in Ukraine and we'll be doing that in partnership with NATO.

       "I'm not going to go into the specifics of that because I don't plan to give the Russian Government a heads up about what's coming their way, but I can assure them it is coming your way."

       Markets paused for breath on Tuesday, after days of volatility with Asian shares edging up and gold slipping slightly as investors watched the conflict in Ukraine unfold and weighed its economic implications - notably regarding energy prices.

       Global share markets have tumbled in recent days following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and western allies' ramping up of sanctions including cutting off some of Russia's banks from the Swift financial network and limiting Moscow's ability to deploy its $630 billion foreign reserves.

       High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow last night ended with no agreement except to keep talking, but Asian markets stabilised on signs of no immediate escalation of sanctions.

       Some American governors are taking matters into their own hands and imposing economic sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.

       In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott asked members of the Restaurant Association, Package Stores Association and retailers to "voluntarily remove all Russian products from their shelves".

       Ohio Governor Mike DeWine directed the state's Commerce Department to cease the purchase and sale of Russian Standard, the only Russian vodka sold in Ohio (under the brand names Green Mark and Russian Standard).

       New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed an executive order requiring state liquor outlets to remove Russian-made and branded alcohol, as did Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

       Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Sunday asked the Liquor Control Board to remove Russian-sourced products from stores in the commonwealth. The board said all Russian-made products would be removed from store shelves as a show of solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine.

       Mastercard has blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network as a result of sanction orders on Russia.

       It will continue to work with regulators to abide fully by compliance obligations, the company said.

       The United Arab Emirates mission to the United Nations reiterated the importance of working to reach an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and seeking peaceful solutions that serve regional and international security and stability, the Mission said in a twitter post early on Tuesday.

       "We deplore the ongoing violence in Ukraine and reiterate the need for restraint, a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution of the conflict," the mission said.

       Canada has ordered two Russian flights out of its airspace after the aircraft, which identified themselves as "humanitarian" flights, violated a ban on Russian aircraft, air-traffic control service said.

       Canada banned Russian planes from entering its airspace starting on Sunday as part of severe sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

       But the same day, an Aeroflot flight AFL111 violated the ban after declaring itself as a humanitarian flight. Under normal circumstances, Canada's air-traffic control service NAV Canada does not have the authority to deny airspace access to an aircraft declaring itself a humanitarian flight.

       The other Russian plane that attempted to enter Canadian airspace had departed from US airports.

       NAV Canada along with regulator Transport Canada has issued a directive to all air-traffic control units to deny all identifiable Russian planes access to their airspace. The only exception to this ban is a prior approval by Transport Canada.

       In case of another violation, NAV Canada will direct the offending plane to the closest airport and notify the regulator, to be immediately reported to Canada's Air Defence Sector and the regulator.

       Taiwan has sent 27 tonnes of medical supplies to Ukraine.

       The Taiwanese government said on Tuesday that it was extending a helping hand as a member of the "democratic camp" in the international community.

       Taiwan has joined with Western allies in putting sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and expressed cross-party sympathy for the Ukrainian people, seeing parallels with what Taipei views as Beijing's threats against the island.

       Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said the supplies left on Monday night on a flight to Frankfurt and would be sent to Ukraine via "appropriate routes and channels".

       The Walt Disney Company says it is pausing the theatrical release of its films in Russia in response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

       The company also said it would work with its NGO partners to provide "urgent aide and other humanitarian assistance" to refugees.

       It comes as conflict continues to rage across the region, with thousands of Ukrainian citizens forced to flee their homes across the country's borders.

       Fighting has been ongoing for several days, following the commencement of military operations by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

       Disney said future business decisions in Russia would be based on "the evolving situation".

       Satellite images taken on Monday show a Russian military convoy north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv that stretches for about 40 miles (64 km), substantially longer than the 17 miles (27 km) reported earlier in the day, a US company has said.

       Maxar Technologies also said additional ground forces deployments and ground attack helicopter units were seen in southern Belarus, less than 20 miles north of the Ukraine border.

       Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday morning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had offered his country, which is under attack from its neighbour Russia, more support in the form of sanctions and weapons.

       "In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the US support for Ukraine remains unfaltering," Mr Kuleba said on Twitter.

       "I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia's assault we need more sanctions and weapons. Secretary assured me of both. We coordinated further steps."

       Satellite images taken on Monday show a Russian military convoy north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv that stretches for about 40 miles (64km), substantially longer than the 17 miles (27km) reported earlier in the day.

       Maxar Technologies said additional ground force deployments and ground attack helicopter units were seen in southern Belarus, less than 20 miles (32km) north of the Ukraine border.

       Airlines are bracing for potentially lengthy blockages of key east-west flight corridors after the European Union and Moscow issued tit-for-tat airspace bans and Washington did not rule out similar action in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

       Industry officials said the Biden administration would ban Russia from US airspace. The White House said on Monday that although barring Russian flights was not off the table, it had yet to make a decision.

       Senator Dick Durbin voiced his support for the ban: "Other countries have done it in Europe and turning the lights out at the airport on those guys isn't a bad idea."

       A European official said the EU had full confidence Washington would follow suit.

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