Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says 'certain positive movements' in negotiations

Russia announced Saturday a temporary cease-fire in two besieged cities of Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried by state news agencies that it has agreed with Ukrainian forces to open humanitarian corridors in the strategic port of Mariupol and the eastern town of Volnovakha beginning at 10 a.m. Moscow time.

"Starting at 10 a.m. Moscow time today, on March 5, the Russian side declares a ceasefire and opens humanitarian passages for civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha," the ministry said. "Humanitarian passages and exit routes have been coordinated with the Ukrainian side."

There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine, and it was unclear how long the evacuation routes would remain open.

-ABC News' Anastasia Bagaeva

Deb Parry, who is currently leading Save the Children’s team in Poland, told ABC News she has never seen anything like the outpouring of help on the Polish border.

“I’ve worked for Save the Children for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s a phenomenal amount of aid being sent. Everything these families could possibly need.”

“They even sent skis!” she exclaimed.

The donations are piling up all over Poland and being dropped near the crossings and reception centers throughout the country. Piles of skis and snowboards were stacked up at Dolhobyczow, a village near the Ukraine border.

“I’m not sure why people think they need skis,” Parry said.

Because of this effort by local communities, Save the Children can focus on things other than the distribution of necessities. More than 700,000 refugees have streamed across the Poland border since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 -- almost all of whom are women and children.

Save the Children is helping parents talk to their children about war. They have teamed up with the telecom companies providing SIM cards and hand out leaflets with information for how best to cope in these trying conditions.

“It’s important to keep children in some sort of a routine,” Parry explained, adding that parents or caretakers need to be careful about what they expose children to.

“Don’t have the news on all the time,” she said.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee and Chris Donato

Representatives from Facebook and Twitter provided updates about their services after the Russian government announced it would block both services.

Twitter security chief Yoel Roth said the company has not confirmed its services are completely disabled in Russia during a public panel Friday evening.

Meta, Facebook's parent company, put out a statement contending, "despite the Russian government’s announcement that they will be blocking Facebook, we are working to keep our services available to the greatest extent possible."

Meta added that "ads targeting people in Russia will be paused, and advertisers within Russia will no longer be able to create or run ads anywhere in the world, including within Russia."

-ABC News' Quinn Owen

As tensions rise between the United States and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, national security officials will appear on Capitol Hill March 8 at 10 a.m. for the House Intelligence Committee's annual worldwide threats hearing.

The public portion of the hearing will include CIA Director Bill Burns, FBI Director Chris Wray and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. Burns notably traveled to Moscow last fall reportedly to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over the troop buildup on Ukraine's borders and his plans to invade the country.

Publicly and privately, lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration over the pace and scope of intelligence sharing with Ukraine over the last week.

The officials will also testify before the Senate later in the week.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel