MARCH 6: Russian President Vladimir Putin has described sanctions imposed by Western nations over his invasion of Ukraine as "akin to a declaration of war".
"But thank God it has not come to that," he added.
Mr Putin also warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be seen as participation in the armed conflict.
And he rejected suggestions that he would introduce a state of emergency or martial law in Russia.
Mr Putin made the remarks while speaking to a group of women flight attendants at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow.
Since the start of Russia's invasion 10 days ago, the West has imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia, including the freezing of Mr Putin's foreign assets and the exclusion of a number of Russian banks from the Swift international payments system.
In addition, many multinational firms have ceased operations in Russia, On Saturday, Zara, Paypal and Samsung became the latest global brands to suspend trading there.
The economic measures have already caused the rouble to plunge in value and forced the Russian central bank to double interest rates.
In his latest comments, Mr Putin sought to justify the war in Ukraine, repeating his assertion that he was seeking to defend Russian speaking communities there through the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of the country.
Responding to Western defence analysts' allegations that the Russian military campaign was going less well than expected, he said: "Our army will fulfil all the tasks. I don't doubt that at all. Everything is going to plan."
He added that only professional soldiers were taking part in the hostilities and there were no conscripts involved, despite reports to the contrary.
The Russian leader said efforts to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia to be a step into the military conflict and those responsible would be treated as enemy combatants.
"The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they risk the future of Ukrainian statehood," he added.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Nato for ruling out the no-fly zone. However, Western leaders say introducing the measure would be an escalation.
Putin also said he had no plans to declare martial law in Russia. adding that such a step would only be taken in "instances of external aggression, in defined areas of military activity".
"But we don't have such a situation and I hope we won't have one," he said.
There had been rumours that Putin was planning to declare martial law, which is when normal civil law is suspended or the military takes control of government functions.
He said there were other special emergency states which could be used in the case of a "large-scale external threat", but that he had no plans to introduce these either.
Meanwhile, diplomatic moves have continued on the sidelines of the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Putin in Moscow on Saturday and had a three-hour discussion on the war.
Bennett then headed to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. As an Orthodox Jew, he broke Shabbat in order to travel, which is allowed under Jewish law if human life is at stake.
Although Israel is a key ally of the US, Bennett has tried to preserve a good relationship with Russia. Ukraine's President Zelensky, who is Jewish, has called on Israel to mediate in the crisis.
And the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has met Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, telling him he was in awe of his courage in standing up to Russia.
The two men met on the Polish-Ukraine border. Kuleba reiterated his desire and optimism for more military backing from Nato, including a no-fly zone.
MARCH 6: Russian forces continued to shell the city of Mariupol on Saturday, despite agreeing to a ceasefire just hours earlier - throwing an attempted mass evacuation of civilians into chaos.
"I'm right now in Mariupol, I'm on the street, I can hear shelling every three to five minutes," said Alexander, a 44-year-old engineer and resident of the city.
The green corridor set up to get people out was not working, he said.
"I can see cars of people who tried to flee, and they are coming back. It is chaos."
Three hours after the ceasefire was supposed to begin, at 09:00 (07:00 GMT), Mariupol authorities announced they had postponed a planned mass evacuation because of the continued bombardment.
Putin likens sanctions to declaration of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described sanctions imposed by Western nations over his invasion of Ukraine as "akin to a declaration of war".
"But thank God it has not come to that," he added.
Mr Putin also warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be seen as participation in the armed conflict.
And he rejected suggestions that he would introduce a state of emergency or martial law in Russia.
Mr Putin made the remarks while speaking to a group of flight attendants at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow.
Russia's tactic: Meet resistance with more firepower
For one seasoned BBC correspondent, Russian tactics in Ukraine bring to mind other wars not so long ago.
The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, who covered the first Chechen war in 1994-95, says it could get much worse - that "Russia answers resistance with firepower".
Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, has already felt the effects. So has Mariupol and other cities in the east.
"Russia's invasion has once again been slowed by logistical bottlenecks, tactical mistakes and terrified teenagers who had not been told they were going to war - as well as resistance as fierce as anything the Chechens offered in 1995," he writes.
Kevin Connolly, who was a correspondent for the BBC in Moscow in the 1990s, is also reflecting on history. He says there are moments when the tectonic plates of history shift beneath our feet and Europe is violently remade.
It is time to recognise that we are at such a moment, he adds. But drawing the right lessons from those big moments when everything changes is not easy.
Thousands march in Kherson against occupiers
In the Black Sea port of Kherson, the first Ukrainian city to fall to the Russians, protests against the occupiers have broken out.
About 2,000 people marched through the city centre, waving flags and singing the Ukrainian national anthem. They shouted patriotic slogans including "Russians go home" and "Kherson is Ukraine".
Kherson, a key port on the Black Sea and the Dnieper River, fell to Russian troops earlier this week.
Videos of the protest on social media show Russian troops firing into the air to deter the approaching crowd.
One local resident, Yevhen, told the BBC the protest was a march for freedom and Ukrainian independence.
More global firms suspend business in Russia
Zara, Paypal and Samsung are the latest international firms to suspend trading in Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Zara's owner, Inditex, will shut all 502 stores of its eight brands, which also include Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho, from Sunday.
Payment giant Paypal cited "violent military aggression in Ukraine" as the reason to shut down its services.
Samsung - Russia's top supplier of smartphones - is suspending shipments over "geopolitical developments". Other global brands, including Apple, H&M and Ikea, have already stopped selling in Russia.
The clothes store closures are expected to hit more than 9,000 of Inditex's employees who work in Russia.
The Spanish-owned business told the BBC it was drawing up a plan to support them.
With inputs from BBC
SEOUL: South Korean tech company, Samsung has suspended product shipments to Russia "due to current geopolitical developments," joining other global giants
As Russia has ordered operations in Ukraine, Korean companies have been also impacted. Korean companies have returned their expatriates from Ukraine, and are closely watching the situation.
