Ukraine Special Forces offer training to civilians

Members of Ukraine's Special Forces unit held military training for Mariupol residents to teach them self-defense in case of an attack from Russia.

The battalion, part of Ukraine's National Guard, trained residents to assemble and dissemble a gun, to load ammunition and aim at targets. Russia denies it intends to invade but has massed well over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and has sent troops to exercises in neighboring Belarus, encircling Ukraine on three sides.

In a sign that American officials are getting ready for a worst-case scenario, the United States announced plans to evacuate most of its staff from the embassy in the Ukrainian capital. Britain joined other European nations in urging its citizens to leave Ukraine.