Russia-Ukraine war: Key things to know as conflict heads into fourth week

Late Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nighttime video address to the nation that he is thankful to US President Joe Biden for additional military aid but will not say specifically what the new package includes because he does not want to tip off Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shakes hands with a wounded Kateryna Vlasenko, 16, a refugee from Vorzel who covered her younger brother with her body during Russian shelling as they ran from their home town in a hospital in Kyiv. Picture: provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock (12853796a)

Russian forces struck Ukrainian cities from a distance again on Friday, hitting sites in the capital Kyiv and the country’s west as their ground offensive inched forward under fierce Ukrainian resistance.

The war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin ground into its fourth week as his troops have failed to take Kyiv — a major objective in their hopes of forcing a settlement or dictating the country’s future political alignments.