- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
US fears for civilians as 'staggering' Ukraine toll grows
The United States raised fears Wednesday that civilians are being targeted by Russia in Ukraine, warning that Moscow is moving cluster munitions and other lethal weaponry into the country in a potentially dangerous new phase of the conflict.
One week after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded his eastern European neighbor, top US diplomat Antony Blinken said the human costs are already "staggering."
"Hundreds if not thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded," Blinken, who will travel to eastern Europe next week to shore up US support for Ukraine, told a press briefing in Washington.
Russia has launched attacks on buildings and cities that "aren't military targets," he said, adding: "The humanitarian consequences will only grow in the days ahead."
The Secretary of State spoke after a warning earlier Wednesday by US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield that Russia was moving "exceptionally lethal weaponry" into Ukraine.
That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs, which she told the General Assembly are banned under international law and have "no place on the battlefield."
A senior Pentagon official also warned that "we would expect to see artillery strikes increase" as Russian forces try to surround Ukrainian cities.
"The worry is that as they become more aggressive, they will become less precise and less discriminant," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, igniting a global outcry and fierce resistance by Ukrainians.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled since the invasion began, while the West has imposed sanctions to cripple Russia's economy.
Putin has also ordered his nuclear forces be mobilized in a move that sparked immediate condemnation.
Blinken slammed the Russian leader's nuclear rhetoric as "the height of irresponsibility" Wednesday, but said Washington was ready to support any diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Moscow's troops.
Russia has mooted the possibility of ceasefire talks, and a Ukrainian delegation was on the way to negotiations on the Belarus-Poland border on Wednesday.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said meanwhile that the United States had postponed a planned test launch of a ballistic missile so as not to exacerbate tensions.
"We recognize at this moment of tension how critical it is that both the United States and Russia bear in mind the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks," he said.
The State Department announced that Blinken will travel to Belgium, Poland, the Baltic states and Moldova from March 3-8 to reaffirm Washington's support for Ukraine.
The stop in Chisinau comes as Western leaders have raised concerns that Moscow's offensive against Kyiv could spread to Moldova, another former Soviet republic.
Moldova, whose president Maia Sandu was elected on a Western-facing platform, is home to the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestr.
Poland, meanwhile, is at the forefront of the effort to host refugees fleeing Ukraine. The UN says it has taken in more than 450,000 Ukrainians, or 51.9 percent of the refugees so far.
O.Bulka--BTB