Morning mail: ‘worst yet to come’ in Ukraine, internet outages hit flood help, Neighbours finale

Thursday: Vladimir Putin tells Emmanuel Macron he will continue to pursue his war. Plus: are the catastrophic floods really a one-in-1,000 year event?

Good morning. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for direct talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin as the only way to stop this war". The US and UK have announced additional sanctions on Russia. And more rain threatens the floods crisis in NSW.

Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv, amid a lack of fresh information about its position and the threat it poses. Vladimir Putin has told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv's refusal to accept Russia's conditions" means he will continue to pursue his war, the Elysee palace has said, adding: We expect the worst is yet to come." As the number of refugees fleeing the conflict passed a million and Russian forces, backed by heavy shelling, advanced on cities and key ports in the south and east, Russia's president said in a 90-minute call to his French counterpart he was prepared to go all the way". Meanwhile, members of the public are paying for Airbnb rentals in Ukraine to help get money to residents. The world's leading energy adviser said Europeans should turn down their thermostats by a degree to save on gas and reduce dependency on Russian imports. Macron has also warned that Europe must become more independent. Ikea has temporarily closed all stores and factories across Russia in a move affecting 15,000 workers, becoming the latest in a swathe of western firms to halt operations in the country. These efforts come as some countries scramble to speed up imposing sanction.