Kyiv, Mar. 5: Russian forces closing in on Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility, and is currently only 32 km away from it, said United States ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Her comments followed news that Russia had, on Friday, seized Euroe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it will fully untie Russia’s hands as it escalates its attack from the air. On Friday, NATO refused to impose a no-fly zone, warning that to do so could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia.

Russia blocked Facebook and some other websites on Friday and passed a law that gave Moscow much stronger powers to crack down on independent journalism, prompting the BBC, Bloomberg and other foreign media to suspend reporting in the country. Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, the biggest on a European state since World War Two, has created over 1 million refugees, a barrage of sanctions and fears of a global economic hit and wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

NATO rejected Ukrainian calls to help it protect its skies from Russian missiles and warplanes, wary of being dragged into Moscow's war on its neighbour, but Europe promised more sanctions to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy strongly criticised the decision, saying the alliance had given Russia the green light to continue its bombing campaign. He had earlier appealed to NATO to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which Russia invaded by land, sea and air on February 24.

"We are not part of this conflict," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in denying Ukraine's request. "We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering," he said following a NATO meeting in Brussels. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, wants to join the European Union and NATO, moves which Moscow says threaten its security and influence.-Agencies