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

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday spoke to his Chinese counterpart for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. The State Department said Blinken warned State Councilor Wang Yi that "the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom, self-determination, and sovereignty."

"He underscored that the world is acting in unison to repudiate and respond to the Russian aggression, ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price," Ned Price, a spokesperson for Blinken, said in a statement.

China, however, continues to do business with Russia and even countries like India hold back from condemning the Kremlin's war.

Starting late last year, U.S. officials shared privately with the Chinese, just as they did publicly, that they believed Russia was preparing for a potential invasion of Ukraine, urging Beijing to use its influence with the Kremlin “to indicate to Putin that this kind of aggression would be met with a swift and severe response,” a State Department official said last week.

But China’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that it did not request Russia to hold off on an invasion until after the Winter Olympics. The State Department had no comment on that report.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

The International Committee of the Red Cross said safe passage operations from Ukrainian cities will not start on Saturday.

"We understand that the safe passage operations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not start today," the ICRC said in a statement.

The ICRC said it remains in dialogue with the parties about the safe passage of civilians from different cities affected by the conflict, saying, "The scenes in Mariupol and in other cities today are heart-breaking."

"As a neutral and impartial humanitarian intermediary, we stand ready to help facilitate the safe passage of civilians once the parties have reached an agreement and that its terms are strictly humanitarian for the ICRC to be involved," the ICRC said.

Adding, "Regardless of whether humanitarian corridors are implemented in the coming days, parties must continue to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure under international humanitarian law both for those who choose to leave and those who remain."

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekiah

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Saturday claimed that more than 10,000 Russian army troops have been killed in the war.

"It's young men, 18 to 20-year-old boys, who lost their lives having no idea why their country sent them to war," Zelenskyy said during a speech.

"We're inflicting such heavy losses on the enemy that they couldn't have imagined in their worst nightmares," Zelenskyy said.

He said Ukraine is managing to hold the line on all key fronts and directions and that the Ukrainian army has gone on counterattack in Kharkiv.

Zelenskyy also thanked Polish President Andrzej Duda for the country's support which helped prevent a humanitarian crisis at the border.

"There's practically no border between Ukraine and Poland any more," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president said he has already begun discussions on post-war reconstruction efforts.

"I spoke to World Bank President and IMF managing director, and we have an agreement on measures to support Ukraine. Tens of billions of dollars will be provided for renovation after the war, and that's just the beginning," Zelenskyy said.

"I'm grateful to Americans, to bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, but also to millions of ordinary people who call for tougher sanctions against the aggressor and better protection of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday dismissed the idea of imposing a "no-fly" zone over Ukraine, which Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy has been calling for.

"It's impossible to do it, any attempts by other countries to do it will be regarded as their participation in military conflict," Putin said Saturday while speaking to female pilots and stewardesses from Russia’s national airline Aeroflot.

Putin claimed that Ukrainian “neo-Nazis” were not allowing people to leave Ukrainian cities in order to use them as human shields. The Red Cross on Saturday confirmed that the evacuations were stopped because of Russian shelling.

Putin also commented on the sanctions the West imposed on Russia, calling them "akin to a declaration of war," but insisted that Russia could adapt and suggested the countries imposing them would reverse because it also hurt their interests.

On the invasion of Ukraine, Putin claimed again that it was going "according to plan, to schedule." He also claimed that Russia was only using professional soldiers, not conscripts in Ukraine and would continue to do so.

Talks with Ukraine are continuing, according to Putin, with Russia's key demand being the "de-militarization" of Ukraine.

Putin also made threatening comments about Ukraine's statehood.

"Especially those from today's leadership, should understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they call into question the future of Ukrainian statehood. And if it happens it will be wholly and fully on their conscience," Putin said.

Putin said there is no current plan to implement martial law in Russia and would only do so in the case of “outside aggression” against specific regions of Russia.

Putin also suggested that Russia might try to block international airlines from flying over Siberia, which would disrupt international airlines trying to fly from Europe to Asia.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell and Somayeh Malekiah