Russia-Ukraine live updates: Number of refugees grows to 2.5 million

There are also around 2 million displaced people inside Ukraine.
Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

Mar 11, 7:33 am
Russian general prosecutor wants Meta declared 'extremist organization'

Russia’s general prosecutor’s office has asked a court to declare Facebook’s parent company, Meta, an "extremist organization," a designation that would equate the company with terrorist groups like ISIS.

The prosecutor’s office has also opened two criminal cases for alleged public calls for extremism and assistance to terrorism, Russian state media reports. The step follows Meta’s decision yesterday to temporarily change its hate speech policy to allow calls for violence against Russia in Ukrainian war posts.

Designating Meta as an extremist group would put it alongside the organization of Russia’s leading opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who is currently jailed. Membership or assistance to extremist organizations is punishable by lengthy prison terms, ranging from 5-10 years.

Russia’s state censor has already blocked access to Facebook. This raises the possibility that those using Facebook in the country could also face prison, though that is not clear.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 11, 6:48 am
UN bolstering assistance for growing number of displaced people

The U.N. said it is increasingly concerned about the nearly 2 million internally displaced people and nearly 13 million impacted by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Of particular concern are supplies of food, water, medicines and other necessities that are urgently needed in the hard-hit cities of Kharkiv and Mariupol, according to UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. Access to these areas remains restricted because of military operations and hazards like land mines.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is working to provide heating stations at border crossings for those who are particularly vulnerable and is also working to roll out cash assistance.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Mar 11, 5:05 am
Number of refugees from Ukraine rises to 2.5 million

The number of refugees in the Ukraine crisis has increased to 2.5 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Commissioner Filippo Grandi called the conflict "senseless" in a tweet and said that the number of displaced people inside Ukraine had reached about 2 million.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Mar 11, 4:49 am
Putin orders Russian military to help volunteer fighters from Middle East travel to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defense minister to assist “volunteer” fighters to travel to Ukraine to join Russian forces there.

The order appears to relate to Russian efforts to recruit Syrian fighters that U.S. officials have said are underway.

Russia’s defense minister Sergey Shoigu claimed to Putin that 16,000 volunteers from “the Middle East” had expressed a desire to come.

Shoigu claimed that the fighters, who he said had experience fighting ISIS, wanted to come not for money but a “sincere” desire to help.

U.S. officials have said they believe Russia is recruiting Syrians experienced in urban combat from its areas held by its ally, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. They are reported to be being offered just a few hundred dollars.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell