'Empire of lies', says Putin as US freezes assets of Russian central bank

Russia bans citizens from transferring money abroad

Russia banned airlines from 36 countries from its airspace in retaliation to a similar move from European states, ratcheting up the confrontation with nations that have rushed to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.
 
A Ukrainian delegation led by the defence minister began talks with Russian officials on the border with Belarus, while in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed doubt the negotiations can yield progress toward halting the violence and repeated a request for his country to be fast tracked into the European Union.
 
Meanwhile, Russia’s currency and bonds plunged and authorities scrambled to erect economic defences against