Ukraine: What happened today, Thursday, March 24?

Here are some key things to know about today's developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Eight-year-olds Emmi Kirwan and Vlad Slyvka from Ukraine pictured this evening at the Russian Embassy, Dublin for a gathering by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in solidarity with Ukraine. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Ukraine’s cities stood under relentless Russian fire on Thursday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Nato leaders gathered in Brussels to provide unlimited aid — including planes, tanks and other weapons — saying his country is “defending our common values.” 

US President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions against Russia and more humanitarian aid for Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance Zelenskyy requested.