GOOD MORNING.

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to catch up with to start your day.

1. #UKRAINE: Kyiv officials are warning residents that street fighting is underway against Russian forces as Ukraine’s president refused to leave the city.

You can keep up to day with all the important developments throughout the day here. 

2. #EMBASSY: Russia is using its Dublin embassy as a communications base employing more than a dozen intelligence operatives to process information for European agents, security sources have said. 

Sources have told The Journal the Russian Embassy in South Dublin is not just a diplomatic unit but also that it has a high end intelligence capability including monitoring and communicating with agents across Europe. 

3. #NATO: The NATO General Secretary has said that US President Joe Biden and his counterparts have agreed to send parts of the organisation’s response force to help protect allies in the east following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

4. #PEACE TALKS: Hungary last night said it offered to host talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that he had spoken by telephone to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and to Andriy Yermak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

5. #VARADKAR: Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as the “Hitler of the 21st Century” as he says that sanctions against Russia will have an impact on Ireland’s economy.

6. #FACEBOOK: Facebook has restricted Russian state media’s ability to earn money on the social media platform.

“We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world,” Nathaniel Gleicher, the social media giant’s security policy head, said on Twitter. 

7. #SUPREME COURT: Joe Biden has nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman selected to serve on the court.

8. #JOBS: A group of people from around Europe are gathering in Dublin Castle this weekend for a citizens’ panel preparing recommendations around the economy and jobs. 

9. #HOMELESS: There were over 9,000 people in emergency accommodation in January, with homeless charities “dismayed” at the rise in figures over the last eight months.