Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Thursday, February 24, 2022

Ukraine breaks off diplomatic ties with Russia

By AFP 24 February 2022, 11:58 am Edit

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for a working session at the Elysee Palace, on December 9, 2019, in Paris. (Ian Langsdon/Pool via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive for a working session at the Elysee Palace, on December 9, 2019, in Paris. (Ian Langsdon/Pool via AP)

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky breaks off Kyiv’s diplomatic relations with Moscow in response to Russia’s invasion of its Western-backed neighbor.

“We broke off diplomatic relations with Russia,” Zelensky says in a video message. It marks the first rupture in ties since Russia and Ukraine became independent countries after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.