As the conflict rages on in Ukraine, residents of Kyiv and Odessa work to protect their cities on Wednesday, putting out fires from shelling and fortifying structures with sandbags. Many Ukrainians are buying guns in Lviv, where firearms training and purchasing has been streamlined. 

Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said 264 civilians had so far died from Russian bombardment on the capital, including four children.  The Kyiv city administration says Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian capital overnight and early Wednesday morning, in the districts of Sviatoshynskyi and Shevchenkivskyi, damaging buildings.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered virtual addresses to Japanese lawmakers in Tokyo, and to Parliament Members in the French National Assembly, in Paris. Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, spoke during a meeting of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters.Russian service members held a ceremony in Crimea for Capt. 

Andrei Paliy, a deputy commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol killed in action. ​​Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a cabinet meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.

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